Barry Haase (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to bring to the attention of the House my distaste for the contemptuous treatment of a great bunch of Australians who were moved by their dissatisfaction to travel from all points of the compass in Australia and converge on Canberra. I am moved by the absolute contempt in which they were held by the Leader of the House, the member for Grayndler. Much has been said about his performance in the House and his contempt for those in the gallery representing that group, but it does not go far enough to describe the absolute arrogance and schoolyard tactics to which those people and others like them across Australia today are being increasingly exposed by members of this government, both on the backbench and on the frontbench I am sorry to say. There are numerous examples.

Monday and today saw the presence here in Canberra of a group—not a great number relatively speaking I confess—that expressed with a great deal of passion and commitment their dissatisfaction with this government. We do live in a democracy I trust. Those persons were sufficiently motivated to invest their time and considerable money in moving from all points across Australia and converging on Canberra, or should I say attempting to converge, and be apparent in the media's eye and in our eyes as members of this place. It was totally thwarted and it was absolutely denigrated by so many in this House on the side of the government. One would have thought that there was a degree of maturity in those representatives of the government that would have accepted the discontent, the sense of a toxic government, that these people hold. One would have thought there was a degree of maturity that would have treated those persons with a modicum of respect. Instead we found that they were treated not just with contempt but with disdain. They were denigrated. They were insulted. They were referred to as the convoy of no consequence. What a lovely little schoolyard tactic by the Leader of the House. Why would he do it? Because quite frankly he is typical of the frontbench of this government—running scared and terrified of any example across Australia that might show to the media and the wider population the contempt with which this government is held. One might ask the question: why on earth would there be such a passion to stay in government when one is held in such contempt by the population at large? I believe I have found a clue. When asked by author Fenella Souter of the Sydney Morning Herald on 2 April 2005 about aspirations for leadership as a minister or as a Prime Minister, our current Prime Minister replied:

I wouldn't finish my career unsatisfied if that's what life brought me. In fact, I'd cheerfully kill several hundred people to get that opportunity in the short term. I shouldn't carry on about killing people, but you'd certainly cut your right arm off for it now.

One is amazed by such a statement, but it goes further because this Prime Minister right now is in cahoots with the Leader of the Greens, Bob Brown, and she said of his illusion of being a saint:

"Oh it's nonsense, nonsense," she says in exasperation, losing all interest in her sushi. "He's a politician. I'm not saying he doesn't believe the things he says … he is as hard-nosed and pragmatic and grafting about [building a political party] as any politician you'll ever meet …"

I believe I have found the clue to the arrogance of this government. I believe I have found another good reason why people should be ashamed of this Prime Minister. (Time expired)