Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

for statements to be made in this House while this investigation is going on. I also find it incredible that I am being lectured by the member for Fairfax about integrity in parliament, a man who has made this parliament a plaything for his self-indulgence and who has made outrageous statements on television. Indeed, I believe from his inattendance that he only comes into this place to try to lift his profile. We saw in question time today that he even launched an attack on a legitimate deal done by the Northern Territory government and the Chinese government to advance his own cause and his own business. So I will not be lectured on integrity by that man.

Indeed, in this place all we as members of parliament have is our integrity. If you want to insult anyone in this place, you question their integrity. I live and die by that integrity. I have seen in my eight years in this place as of yesterday some things that really have questioned that integrity in the deals that have been done. We saw it back with the carbon tax. If the members opposite are wondering why their numbers have somewhat shrunk, it is because they have walked away from their traditional constituents, who have been disaffected by that, in their attempt to garner Green votes from the leafy suburbs of the capital cities. We saw that in the deal that was done with the member for Melbourne and others after a former Prime Minister said there would be no carbon tax under a government she led in an attempt to get votes. We saw that when the pensioners of Australia were sold out for Greens preferences.

We also saw that in a deal that was done under the previous government with the member for Denison on poker machines—that was a personal crusade for the member for Denison—despite the fact that the members of the then government knew that what was being requested was an impossibility, despite the fact that across my electorate small golf clubs, bowling clubs and RSLs are funded by a couple of poker machines to pay the green keeper and have a communal place to meet. We saw that Labor's traditional supporters were turned on by the previous government. We saw out of that a trial that went to the union backed clubs in the ACT along those lines.

I bring into this place my integrity. That is all you can keep. If you stay in this place it will be because you put the everyday people that you represent first. Quite frankly, this debate upsets me immensely because quite often the carry-on and the stunts in this place bring all of us disrespect. Time and time again, I find myself defending this place and what we stand for. I actually spend a lot of time defending people on the opposite side because of my belief in this institution. We should not be using this institution for some sort of political stunt or a personal crusade.

We saw week after week members from that side defending the former member for Dobell, who stayed here under dubious circumstances. But they come in here now and lecture the parliament about integrity. This is one of the most bizarre matters of public importance, quite frankly, that I have seen in this place. The member for Isaacs must long for the days when he was a QC and he worked in a place where he actually had some respect and integrity, because quite frankly he is struggling in this place. This is a very paltry and ill-conceived attack. Quite frankly, it is a waste of time for this parliament.

See this speech in context