Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move a motion of censure against the Minister for Human Services and the Prime Minister.

Leave not granted.

I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition from moving the following motion forthwith—

That the House:

(1)notes—

(a)that the Minister for Human Services provided assistance to Nimrod Resources during a trip to China in August 2014;

(b)that the Minister for Human Services has already admitted to the House that he was travelling in a personal capacity when he assisted Nimrod Resources during his trip to China;

(c)therefore the minister's own actions were a direct breach of clause 2.20 of the Prime Minister's own statement of ministerial standards;

(d)the principal of Nimrod Resources has donated more than $2 million to the Liberal Party in the past two financial years;

(e)the Prime Minister has a choice between getting rid of his minister or getting rid of his own ministerial standards and he has been unable to make that choice; and

(2)censures the Minister for Human Services for failing to resign for his clear breach of ministerial standards; and

(3)censures the Prime Minister for his inability to sack the Minister for Human Services for a clear breach of the Prime Minister's own statement of ministerial standards.

This Prime Minister set one standard for the minister for cities and he is setting a lower standard for his own backer, Stuart Robert. This is wrong that the Prime Minister is in any way deferring the issue. The Prime Minister stands here in a lofty manner, patronising the nation and says, 'Oh, we've got to go through the Parkinson process.' What is it that this Prime Minister does not understand about ministerial responsibility? It beggars belief that this minister, travelling to China in a personal capacity, accidentally turns up at a signing ceremony. What are the odds of that?

Then we have this hapless traveller, this Stuart Robert, wandering around—

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