Glenn Sterle (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The National Party and doormats. But please, help me out; I would love to stand corrected on this. It would be wonderful if someone could challenge me by standing up and telling me what those opposite were going to do, please. There are a couple of minutes left. What were you going to do? I plead with you. They were going to do nothing. All they wanted to do was stop, stop, stop. We have got a Prime Minister who has said very clearly that she wants to negotiate a carbon price. There will be the opportunity for those opposite to have their say.

I have sat in this place since two o’clock this afternoon, when we had question time. Then, at about 20 past two, those opposite pulled their cunning stunt. It is now quarter to six and the fire has burnt out. It has only been three hours and you are burnt, you are gone—you have got nothing to talk about. There is not even a decent interjection coming from that side. Normally when I am on my feet I get some good interjections. There is nothing. It is an absolute shambles on that side of the parliament. There is no fire—20 minutes is the best they can do.

We need certainty for this country. We need certainty for our children and our grandchildren, we need certainty for business and we need certainty for employers. We got into a sad situation in late 2009. In good faith, Mr Turnbull and his motley crew at the time were in negotiations with Senator Wong and the previous Prime Minister. When there was the belief that this country could move forward and do something about climate change, what did those opposite do? They took out their leader. The lunatics are in charge of the asylum.