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

In Tasmania, we swept aside 16 years of Labor-Greens government, because the public knows that this side of House is operating in an adult, calm and methodical way, introducing the policies that we promised to take to the election and introducing the governmental changes that we know will create jobs, build growth and restore the reputation of Australia internationally and domestically. We are getting on with the job. What Labor are doing is spending a week wasting their questions, wasting question time and building to their suspension of standing orders on Thursday afternoon. I say to the new members of the Labor Party, particularly: you should speak to the strategy team about their strategy, because you are not winning it. You spent all week criticising the government for doing the right thing, and this was a complete waste of a question time.

There are so many precedents for the action of Senator Sinodinos. Mick Young in 1984—

An opposition member: Thanks for your help!

Someone needs to help you. Mick Young, your predecessor, in 1984 stood down from the Hawke ministry; he was reinstated about a month or so later. Phillip Lynch stood down as the Treasurer in the Fraser government; he was reinstated to the ministry a little while later. Ian Sinclair stood down from the Fraser government; he was reinstated to the ministry after he was cleared of any wrongdoing. Even the member for Lilley, when he was a shadow minister, stood down from the role that he held in family and community services under the former Leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley, until he was cleared of any wrongdoing in any matters and returned to the front bench. These are the precedents—Mick Young, Phillip Lynch, Ian Sinclair and Wayne Swan. These are the precedents. The action that was taken by Senator Arthur Sinodinos yesterday by standing aside from his position—

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