Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Coping with the modern age might be too much for the opposition. They might be unable to contemplate anything that has happened since 2007.

Mr Abbott interjecting—

But let me assure the Leader of the Opposition, who interjects now, and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that, of course, during the modern age we need to deal with modern facts. Among the modern facts we need to deal with is that the Indonesian government have wholeheartedly repudiated the statements made by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition when she has pretended to have an arrangement with them. They have repudiated her shallow attempts to try and pretend to the Australian community that she has some special deal with Indonesia.

I would also refer her to the fact that people who actually know about these matters—that is, not the Leader of the Opposition, not the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and not people who sit here in the comfort of this parliament but people who actually go out on the high seas for the Australian nation, like Chris Barrie, former Chief of Navy, and have had to command others who have done this dangerous and difficult work—are now providing, in the modern age, in contemporary times and indeed, when I refer to former Admiral Chris Barrie, as recently as 17 June, advice about how this would put ADF personnel at risk.

I ask the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition: on a policy area of importance, on something as important as safety at sea for our ADF personnel, could they try and be a little bit better than this. Could they try and be a little bit better than these cheap and silly games. There they sit, with absolutely no answers, day after day insulting Indonesia and day after day insulting those who actually have expertise on the high seas, with absolutely no policies and absolutely no plans, mired in this kind of frivolous conduct, whilst we get on with the important work of doing what the nation needs done, including in the area of refugee and asylum seeker policy, where day after day they sit there and use their negativity to try and deny the nation the best approaches. (Time expired)

See this speech in context