Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

It is a very important day in the history of this parliament because the prime minister of our country has come into the parliament and has deliberately misled this parliament. That is the most serious allegation that can be made against a prime minister or, indeed, against a member or senator in this House or in the other place. I cannot recall a time in recent history were such a claim has been made against a member with the evidence so clear in relation to this matter. It is clear that the government has taken steps to avoid a debate. It is obvious now, with the Prime Minister leaving the chamber, that he is not prepared to defend his own position—again something without precedent in my 20-odd years in this parliament. Normally, you would expect a prime minister to stand up and defend himself or herself, to correct the record if, indeed, there had been an inadvertent misleading of the House. But this Prime Minister went on, question after question in his responses to those questions, perpetrating his misleading of this house. This is a very serious—

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