Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today the outrage from the community continues about the cuts to the ABC. Not only is there outrage about the cuts and outrage about the broken promise, but there is outrage about the hypocrisy of those on the other side who want to protect their local community but who also sanction the cuts wholeheartedly. Of course, one of those is the member for Sturt whose hypocrisy is in full flight. He thinks that the South Australian people are silly enough to not realise and see through his game. But they do.

Indeed, you only have to go to his own petitions to see some of the comments. First, Sharlene: 'Talk is cheap, Mr Pyne—no cuts to the ABC or SBS.' Then there is Elizabeth: 'The irony of this situation is that Mr Pyne is part of the problem but he wants to be exempt from the consequences. Christopher Pyne needs to persuade the cabinet to reverse these ABC cuts.' My favourite is from Twitter; it sums up his hypocrisy the best: 'Petitions are fun. That's why I am asking you to sign my petition to myself—asking me to petition me about cuts we're making to the ABC.' Quite frankly, it is time for Christopher Pyne, the member for Sturt, to stand up in Cabinet and actually vote against these cuts—and not just go to change.org to try to make a change, because that is not going to work.