Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Hansard source

Listening to the Prime Minister on his matter of public importance today you could be forgiven for thinking that Rip Van Winkle had woken from a three-year-and-three-day-long sleep. Listening to the new Prime Minister speaking today, you could assume that three years and three days ago time stopped and nothing has happened since that time that anybody in Australia is allowed to remember, because Rip has woken from his very long sleep and all the apparent achievements that he has outlined today all occurred because of something linked to Rip Van Winkle, who has awoken from this deep sleep.

The Prime Minister has singularly failed in his address today to explain why the former Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, had to be executed politically last night in this place. Listening to the new Prime Minister, you would think that we lived in a land of chocolates and roses, of wine and caring, and that in fact three years and three days ago time stopped on his watch and now he has been restored to his rightful place. Mr Smug is back and writ large—a condescending, patronising, smug, supercilious, sanctimonious, self-regarding new Prime Minister. That is who we now have as Prime Minister.

Mrs D'Ath interjecting —

We didn't interrupt anybody else, Yvette.

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