Julian McGauran (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

It may surprise the others but I stand in a most non-adversarial way. Indeed, I rise to offer some advice to the Australian Labor Party and all I get are moans and groans before I even venture my advice. What I would like to say, for those who wish to stay around and hear it—Mr Deputy President, unfortunately, you are compelled to do so—is that today and yesterday in question time we had the very unusual circumstance of an opposition Labor Party focusing on a single issue. Their centrepiece was what they claim to have been a Liberal Party of Australia fundraiser at Kirribilli. Question after question was dedicated to this particular issue. Of course, the government batted them off quite easily by saying that advice from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet was that it was a non-fundraising function which, based on full cost recovery, was quite acceptable. Therefore, that is our answer to that question.

For the last two days, as I said, the Labor Party have made this the central point of their attack on the government. I point this out to the opposition and offer my advice. I offer that advice because I spent many long, cold years in opposition. I know what it is like to be in opposition. When you reach real time—that is, six months out from an election—there are a limited number of forums and venues for an opposition. I know oppositions do not get a fair go and that parliament is their forum. Governments do not like coming into parliament during question time to be attacked live on air. We sit here pondering and wondering: what are the opposition going to find on us today? What grandstanding issue are they going to come at us with today? How are they going to get their policy messages across? That is how we think. I am absolutely bewildered that they would spend the last two days, and I dare say the rest of the week, trying to mount a case on the Liberal Party function at Kirribilli. It simply shows that the opposition are not willing to do the hard work. They want to skate into government on very shallow and glib issues.

We all know that an opposition has to do what it has to do. When we were in opposition we did similar things—for example, on the Thai teak table at the Lodge, the kennel at the Lodge and, of course, Keating’s piggery, which was indeed a very serious issue. This is what oppositions do but the proper forum in which to do them is estimates. You spent hours and hours and days and days in estimates on the Kirribilli issue and now it looks like you are going to spend the two weeks before a long winter break on this single issue. What a political error. How distant from the Australian people can you be on this issue? On any analysis it shows that you are not willing to do the hard policy work. Ask us the questions that the Australian people want to hear.

It took the government side of the Senate to raise issues such as communications, the economy and industrial relations. I thought that those were your centrepiece. We barely hear a question about industrial relations from those opposite. We have had ministers making statements and answering questions with regard to the floods in the Hunter and the rail disaster in Victoria. We had members on our own side, not from the opposition, asking questions on climate change, law and order and the arrest of Mr Mokbel. We have had Senator Nigel Scullion, who sits in front of me now, in an answer to a question, informing the Senate as to how the government has helped volunteers and the value of volunteers to the community. All of these are issues that the Australian people are interested in and that show a connection to the Australian people. But the opposition comes in here day after day to flog that single issue of a function at Kirribilli.

I say again: we know that oppositions do that sort of thing, but how can this opposition be devoid of economic industrial relations questions? Senator Hutchins, the only man with any sense on the other side, got up in this chamber to ask a question on petrol. It must have been about the sixth question down. I would have thought it was the No. 1 question to lead with. Who is running your tactics committee? As I said, I stand up in a non-adversarial manner to offer advice to the Labor Party and to their tactics committee.