Jason Falinski (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is sad. Their concocted outrage can't even limp to the end of five minutes. To have the Deputy Leader of the Opposition stand here in this parliament and compare the AFP work to that of a Star Track Express courier is a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace, and she should stand up here now and apologise to the hardworking members of the Australian Federal Police. The truth of the matter is this: those opposite would not have put this motion if Michaelia Cash was not a woman, if she was not an effective minister and if she was not calling their mates to account. The fact of the matter is that they can throw up as much dust as they like, they can make as much noise as they want over there but they can't obscure the fact that they are running away from the facts. They can't cover up the secret payments any longer. They can't cover up the secret deals, the self-interest and the corruption that is rampant in the Labor Party, rampant in the union movement and rampant in their associated entities. They can't win this argument. They can't convince anyone of their views, so they're left to do one thing and one thing only: try to confuse people. They try to claim the AFP's work is that of a Star Track Express courier, because what else would you expect of the party of Eddie Obeid, Ian Macdonald, Joe Tripodi, Bob Carr and Luke Foley?

Mr Champion interjecting—

The member for Wakefield wants to be heard. It's a shame he doesn't try as hard to be understood!

They're led by a man who complained when he was a minister in the previous government that his $300,000 salary wasn't enough, that he was underpaid. He is a person who is opposed to increased funding for schools, opposed to lowering taxes for small businesses, opposed to completing the funding for the NDIS that those opposite left dangerously unfunded, opposed to more jobs and higher wages, and opposed most of all to the legislation that would end corrupting benefit payments to unions. He, now, and the Labor Party now, say that a minister should resign because a staff member leaked a story about police raids on a union. Okay, fair enough.

So where were those opposite when Tony Hodges, a former member of Julia Gillard's media team, spread information in order to incite a riot against the then Leader of the Opposition, the member for Warringah? The same media unit then put out stories how Prime Minister Gillard's security team had to protect the poor frail member for Warringah. What a story. In full technicolour for everyone to see, the Prime Minister lost her shoe, and the Leader of the Opposition was escorted by AFP officers. But don't worry; I am sure if there had been some StarTrack couriers standing nearby they could have stepped in and done the job, according to the deputy leader. That's why Prime Minister Gillard resigned, of course. If you leak a story to a newspaper about a union getting raided, that's the same as inciting a riot against the Leader of the Opposition, right? Of course it is. They're the standards.

Mr Champion interjecting—

The member for Wakefield, back again; thanks for helping us out. The fact of the matter is there is nothing they won't say and do to obscure the facts here. The Leader of the Opposition stands up and talks about the poor quality of the coffee he gets in Melbourne and how poorly paid the person making the coffee is but, let's not forget, it was his Fair Work Commission, appointed by him, who he referred this decision to, that came to this decision. So there we have it. We have a party over there that can't remember anything and forgets everything, including the fact that they get payments from people like the CFMEU, including the fact they used to have a minister in New South Wales by the name of Eddie Obeid and the fact that they gave $100,000 to GetUP! (Time expired)

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