Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

There is a little green book called the House of Representatives Standing and Sessional Orders and there is a big book called the House of Representatives Practice. I suggest that just once some of their senior people have a look at them because I am perfectly relevant in talking about what this parliament should be discussing. Those opposite want to have a discussion about honesty and issues relating to the concerns they have which are all just about politics. You never hear from those opposite a concern about the economy, a genuine concern about jobs and employment, a genuine concern about fairness and equity, a genuine concern about the policy debates before the parliament. We saw it today with the passing of the private health insurance legislation. Those opposite now have to declare whether they will repeal that legislation and therefore add to their $70 billion black hole. My attention is drawn to an op-ed piece by the now Leader of the Opposition, who had this to say in the Australian on 24 July 2009:

Opposition, by contrast, tends to be a permanent debating society because even the most final decisions can sometimes be revisited in office.

There you have their principle in writing—you know you cannot trust him unless it is in writing—'Don't worry about anything that is said.'

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