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

Greg Combet appeared as a witness to ICAC. Did we demand that he resign from the front bench? No, we did not demand that he resign. Senator Doug Cameron, now sitting on the Labor Party front bench, appeared as a witness at the ICAC investigation into the Obeid family fortune. Did we demand that Doug Cameron be disciplined and be stripped of his responsibilities? No we did not, because there is an enormous difference between appearing as a witness in an investigation and being investigated by the ICAC. The member for Chifley knows that very well; the member for Kingsford Smith knows it very well. For all the confected outrage in the world that Labor are trying to raise this week, they cannot get away from one fact: they are the party of sleaze and smear in New South Wales, in particular, and Sussex Street has got its reputation. We will not be lectured by Labor about standards in this place.

I would also say that the big difference between this side of House and the other side of House is that, when a matter like this occurs, we act. When something was raised, as it was against the former Assistant Treasurer, the former Assistant Treasurer acted. He did the right thing. He stood aside yesterday so that he would not be a distraction from the government's important economic and social agenda. So the Labor Party have spent all week in question time, wasting question time and criticising us for doing the right thing. When Labor were in power, what did they use to do when these things happened? They circled the wagons, they aggressively attacked the opposition and they used all sorts of personal calumnies against members of the opposition, including me and including you, Madam Speaker, when you were in opposition, and including the now Prime Minister, the member for Warringah. That was their response. The response on our side of the House was for a decent man, a man of honour and reputation, Senator Arthur Sinodinos to stand aside until this matter is resolved.

Mr Husic interjecting—

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