Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise with sadness to express the grave disappointment of the people of Kooyong with the actions of the previous Prime Minister, the member for Cook. The concerns of my electorate are not political. They are not ideological, but they go to the expectations and the aspirations of the Australian citizenry. During the last government the member for Cook, while Prime Minister, gave himself powers to cancel visas, to approve citizenship applications, to approve foreign investment decisions and resource exploration licences and to unilaterally authorise billions of dollars of spending as Minister for Finance in National Cabinet negotiations.

In reviewing these appointments, the Hon. Virginia Bell AC found that the member for Cook's decisions to appoint himself to the ministries of health and of finance were unnecessary. She found that they had little to do with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. She found that the secrecy with which these appointments were undertaken was corrosive to trust in government, that they fundamentally undermined the principles of responsible government and that they were apt to undermine public confidence.

The concerns of my electorate are focused on the extent to which the member for Cook has undermined our democratic process. In taking on multiple ministries and in failing to disclose his putative responsibilities and powers to this country, he has eroded the public's faith in our institutions with his secrecy, his deception and his lack of transparency. Why did he do this? None of us know. The member for Cook did not share his rationale with Ms Bell. He referred her to his public statements and to his Facebook posts. Did he share his reasons with those ministers who were aware of at least some of these decisions, the former member for Flinders and the current member for Hinkler? None of us know. What was the rationale he shared with those departmental secretaries and public servants who were aware of these decisions? None of us know. What was the rationale he discussed with our Governor-General? None of us know.

This censure motion goes some way to affirming our respect as a parliament for the traditions of this place. This country has adopted a constitutional model of representative and responsible government. These principles rest on the many conventions that we must insist upon, irrespective of our political party. We rely on them, and we must recognise that it is our job—it is the Prime Minister's job more than anybody's—to respect them. One of my predecessors in the seat of Kooyong, the founder of the modern Liberal Party, Robert Menzies, said in 1977 that the greatest system of political government yet devised is that of responsible government under the Crown. The member for Cook's actions are not in the tradition of responsible government and they are not in the Liberal tradition.

On behalf of my community, I say to the opposition—such that are actually present in the House—if they do not support this censure motion, they will behaving politically rather than ethically. If members opposite were really unaware of the member for Cook's actions then they should condemn those actions as strongly as those of us situated elsewhere in this House. If the opposition really did not know about the member for Cook's actions as leader, that smacks of incompetence. If they did know, they were complicit with deceit. The Leader of the Opposition in the House has said that the member for Cook's behaviour was fine because it was not illegal or in breach of the Constitution. Is that really how low the bar is to be set by the Liberal and National parties?

I call on all members of the House to show the Australian people that they renounce and resile from the member for Cook's actions as strongly as our electorates have. If we do not, we risk shattering the fragile trust given to us by our constituents. If we do not then we will be telling the Australian people that we are content with representatives who undermine the principles of responsible government. If the opposition do not support this motion, they will be telling all Australians that theirs is not a party that has listened to the public and changed, that theirs is not a party of integrity and transparency and that theirs is a party that has made bad choices before and stands by them now. It is a party that will continue to protect its own, even when they act without honesty and transparency, at the expense of the public and the future of our country. For as long as the Liberal and National parties try to defend the member for Cook's behaviour in government, his legacy will be their legacy. They will be defending the indefensible. I commend this motion to the House.

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