Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The first thing to say, of course, is that most of the claims in the question were wrong: the Prime Minister has visited Western Sydney on a number of occasions and the Prime Minister has also been in the north of Australia on a number of occasions. We had a community cabinet in the north of Australia, as Senator Heffernan well knows. I explained to him why the Prime Minister went to Bali, and I think that was a very good result and well worth the effort. I can also say that the Prime Minister went to Japan after urging by the Liberal Party and the then Leader of the Opposition. So you cannot have it both ways. One moment you urge him to go and then you criticise him for going. You are such a rabble. I would also suggest that attacking the Prime Minister for visiting our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq is a pretty low act.