Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Question to the Prime Minister: the Prime Minister said that he supports the premiers in the work they do to save this country, to save lives and to save livelihoods. Why, then, did the Prime Minister support Clive Palmer's High Court case to tear down Western Australia's borders, and why is it reported that the New South Wales Premier regards him as an 'evil bully'?

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

I'm not going to call the Prime Minister immediately. The last part of the question is out of order, but the part of the question relating to the High Court challenge is in order. The Prime Minister has the call.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Rather than do it later in the day, I can confirm that erroneous report. The New South Wales Premier has made it very clear to me in her message that she has never used such words, ever.

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

I just said that part of the question was out of order.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I won't address the smears of those opposite. What I will do is address the more substantive matter, and I seek your indulgence on restating that part of the question.

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

I won't restate the question. If you could just restate the question without the bit that I've ruled out of order, otherwise we'll just move on.

Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question to the Prime Minister is: why, then, did the Prime Minister support Clive Palmer's High Court case to tear down the Western Australian borders?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member must be misinformed, because the Commonwealth did not pursue that case, and it is erroneous to suggest that that is what the government did. The government did not pursue that case at all. We did not pursue that case. The Labor Party continues to push this falsehood around the country, as they have a habit of doing. The each-way position of the Labor Party, across the pandemic, is there for all to see. They support the plan; they don't support the plan. They do support the plan; they don't support the plan. They support JobKeeper; they're opposed to JobKeeper.

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

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition, on a point of order?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On relevance. The question was very direct. A very short question is now before the chair about—

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

It was very direct in the end. It wasn't direct at the beginning.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Correct. It is about the government's support for Clive Palmer's WA High Court challenge that cost taxpayers a million dollars.

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

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. I'll just say to the Leader of the Opposition: he's got into the habit of using a point of order to not only ask the question again but now even ask additional questions. So if he wants to ask an additional question he can do that. That's what question time is for. The Prime Minister has the call, and he does need to be relevant to the question, but I'm not discounting the fact that the original question did have some political commentary and, at the heart of it, an accusation. The Prime Minister has the call.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'll restate what I said at the commencement of my answer: what the Labor Party is putting about is not true. We did not pursue that case. That is not what occurred. For the opposition, for the Labor Party, to peddle untruth is something I've become used to with this Leader of the Opposition and the Labor Party.