Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Next time, my friend from Townsville is running for deputy. And he would be a very popular deputy; I think he should put his hat in the ring! We know the defence minister put his hat in the ring—that was hardly a sign of good grace. Apparently—and you would not believe it—he went on Radio National and said it was because he wanted to work with the Prime Minister. You could not write a script like this for The Thick of It. You could not write a script like this.

I thought I had seen some farce in this place. I have been known to comment on that—fearlessly—in my own party. But let me tell you: the one thing that the Abbott government promised was an adult government, and stability and caution. They are the bywords of conservatism. And what have people got? Instability, chaos, confusion and division, and that is what they will get if they vote Liberal again.

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