Andrew Charlton (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge that Australia has no greater ally than the United States, and I congratulate President-elect Donald Trump on his election. This government, like every Australian government, will work with the US President of the day.

I was quite interested to hear the Manager of Opposition Business give a speech that was long on sanctimony but short on reflection. Let's not pretend that the Liberal Party were masters of tact in international diplomacy during their decade in power. They were walking around the world offending, abusing and lecturing countries that are Australia's allies and friends. Time after time they damaged Australia's relationships with their sanctimony on the world stage, so I thought I'd go through some of the greatest hits of the Liberals in power and their foreign policy.

No. 1—we have to start with this one—was their charm offensive on the Pacific. The now Leader of the Opposition endeared himself to everyone in the Pacific by talking about rising sea levels into an open mic—

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