Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answer given by the Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Evans) to the excellent question without notice asked by Senator Brandis today, relating to mining.

There is no doubt that this government is in a hopeless mess. From pink batts, to green loans, to Building the Education Revolution to border protection we have a government that is in a mess. As Labor’s Senator Cameron so perceptively acknowledged, it is as though the Labor Party has had a lobotomy. We on this side have known that for a long time. The surprise to us is that the Labor Party have finally realised it themselves.

If anyone needed an example of a lobotomised Labor Party, all they needed to do was have the same misfortune as I had last night in witnessing the most appalling prime ministerial address to the Australian Industry Group. Last year’s PowerPoint presentation by Prime Minister Rudd achieved a new low, but it was still way, way ahead of Prime Minister Gillard’s performance last night. Ms Gillard, in a shrill and strained presentation last night claimed, ‘A deal is a deal.’