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

I am very pleased to respond to the member for Wentworth on this question. This is the guy who stood up here and just lectured us about relationships with the media and free speech, the same person who sued the Sydney Morning Herald over a piece involving allegations about an ex-girlfriend's cat, the same person who settled with the Australian Financial Review in court because of an article calling him 'part polymath, part sociopath'. And he even tried to stop his political opponents questioning whether he was fit for public office.

We will not be lectured by the member for Wentworth, who fits into a fine Tory tradition. When this political mob was in government, Peter Costello put in a gag order on charities. As a condition of funding he tried to shut up the representatives of some of the poorest people in this country. This is the same mob that cut the Environmental Defenders Office funding to try and shut down its ability to take on government. This is the same mob who limited through Work Choices the ability to have freedom of association of working people. John Howard used conclusive certificates to prevent FOI releases—something that this government changed. Look at what this same mob did in Victoria: Ted Baillieu and the denial of public access to large government contracts done in secret. This is the same Tory political tradition that had Jo Bjelke-Petersen throwing people in jail for demonstrating on the streets of Queensland, and that tradition has been brought back by Premier Newman.

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