Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Two days ago in this parliament, there was unanimous support for a motion that dealt with the issue of misinformation by members in this place. It was unanimous. Leave was granted by the government for that motion to be put forward, and that motion was supported by this entire parliament. And I voted yes to that motion. That's what I did in this place. I voted yes to that motion, as did the members of the government, joining with the members of the opposition, to send what I thought was a very clear signal on behalf of the whole parliament. So I find it somewhat disappointing that that mood of bipartisanship in addressing this issue is now being sought to be undermined by the Labor Party, only two days later. So what was that actually about? What was it about two days ago? Were we actually coming together to decry misinformation? Or was this just another political game from the Labor Party? What was it?

I thought, as the Prime Minister, when asked whether leave would be given to bring such a motion, that this was an invitation for the parliament to come together and decry misinformation. That's what I understood. I engaged with the Leader of the House and I said, 'Yes, we should give leave to that.' And I spoke in favour of that motion. In this place, we, as a group of elected officials, I thought, sent a very clear message against misinformation in this parliament. That's what I thought. But what we see today, not even 48 hours later, is that the Labor Party comes in here and even seeks to undermine the bipartisanship it sought to promote two days ago.

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