Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

It is clear, after listening to Senator Feeney’s contribution, that the first broken promise of the Gillard government was that the Prime Minister would choose her ministry on merit—that she would not reward the plotters and the factional backstabbers who did Kevin Rudd in. Senator Feeney and the rest of his gang of four who trooped down to knife Kevin Rudd—Senator Farrell, Senator Arbib and Mr Shorten—have all been promoted, irrespective of their credentials or their talents and in contravention of the Prime Minister’s promise to only assess the ministry on merit.