Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Defence Industry. I refer to evidence given by the Minister for Defence in Senate estimates today and ask: given the Minister for Defence was unable to answer this important question, can the minister advise the House on who is actually the senior minister in the Defence portfolio? Or is the information on the website of the Department of Defence correct: that it is still 'to be advised'?

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Corio knows the rules on props.

Ms Julie Bishop interjecting—

The Minister for Foreign Affairs will cease interjecting.

Opposition members interjecting—

The minister will just pause for a second. There are a number of members on my left who are risking not hearing any part of the answer.

Meryl Swanson (Paterson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Christopher Pyne, step up!

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Paterson can leave under standing order 94(a). That was completely disorderly.

Ms Swanson interjecting—

The member for Paterson risks being named if she does not leave straightaway. She will not interject after she has been asked to leave.

The member for Paterson then left the chamber.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am absolutely shocked, as I am sure many other members of this House are, that the member for Corio would have been given a question at all to ask in the House of Representatives—to lead with his rather large glass chin on this occasion. This is the shadow minister for Defence who advised, when he was carried away on the clam bake in Honolulu, that the policy of the Australian government should be: we sail our Navy within 12 nautical miles of disputed territory in the South China Sea. He fell for the old pea-and-thimble trick.

Ms Rishworth interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Kingston!

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He was with an experienced journalist, Paul Kelly. He would have sat down and thought, 'I want to get myself on the front page of The Australian.' Paul would have said, 'You've got to say something important, though; we can't just put you on the front page because you're a nice guy, Richard.' So he did! So he said something utterly extraordinary—that we should, rather than calm tensions in the South China Sea—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Corio, on a point of order. He needs to state the point of order.

Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The obvious point of order is relevance: who is the boss—you or Marise?

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat. The member for Gorton has already been warned. Members on my left and right! Member for Corio, you cannot ask a question with the number of elements that you did and then try to narrow it after it has been asked, I have to say. The minister is in order.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, that was his angry face! We have now seen his angry face. Of course, what really happened after he got carried away at the clambake in Honolulu is he gets back to Australia and discovers he has created a massive storm about Labor Party foreign policy. But, because the Leader of the Opposition is his best friend, he cannot repudiate him. But Penny Wong did not feel that way. Penny Wong did not feel that way at all. Being from the left, being in the centre, she was more than happy to utterly humiliate and repudiate the member for Corio by saying that, actually, the Labor Party's policy was the same as the government's policy—the same as the government's policy.

The poor old Leader of the Opposition, the hapless Leader of the Opposition, does not even know what 'representative democracy' is, because he thought the Navy decided whether they would sail their ships within 12 nautical miles of disputed territory, when obviously it is a civilian decision made by a democratically elected government as to whether—

Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Corio cannot take another point of order on relevance. There is only one that can be taken during an answer.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

we would change our policy on the South China Sea.

Turning to the question, it is absolutely extraordinary, on a serious note, that right now, when our Australian Defence Force is serving in combat in Syria and Iraq, and we have troops in the Middle East, in Afghanistan, taking part in serious operations—members of our Air Force, members of our command, who are putting their lives at risk—the only question that the shadow minister for defence can think of to ask me, the first question he has ever thought of to ask me, is on such a trivial matter as— (Time expired)

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Adelaide! The Leader of the Opposition! Let's let the temperature lower for just a second.