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

Good. Anyway, that is what he chooses to do in his dying days of politics and being a parliamentarian. What a shame, because you know as well as everyone—everyone on that side knows—that this is a case of 'here we go again'. This is not the East Timor solution. This is not the people's assembly. This is not the Papua New Guinea deal. This is the Malaysian deal. It is a new one. It is a brand new deal that you knew nothing about. Cabinet did not know. You are taking it all over again from your leadership. You do not have to; you should not. It is no way to run a government, it is no way to run a country and it is no way to serve in public office at all. Sooner or later you have got to stand up to that.

I heard one speaker mention the 'consistency of this debate'. You bet it is consistent; it has been going on for years. Let me read to you, for the purposes of those on broadcast, what this debate is about. They will recognise the terms of this debate, because it has been going on since 2008. It reads: 'The Gillard government’s continued failure to secure Australia’s borders and introduce policies to deny people smugglers the product they sell'. It is a consistent debate, and we have been consistent in putting up the policies to fix the problem. We have been consistent in bringing the government to account. It is the government's inconsistency and policy failure after policy failure. The only consistency is that the leadership will announce it, when you know nothing about it, and within 24 hours you have to walk in here and defend it. You are given your riding instructions, you are given your dot points and you dutifully undertake the defence of the indefensible.

Quite often I come into this place singing the praises of Senator Doug Cameron. He is on a different political spectrum from me, but I have always looked for what Senator Doug Cameron has said in the newspapers. I always like to cut these things out and put them into my top pocket for moments like this. I have always thought, 'Here's a man, unlike the other weaklings across the other side, who will stand up to the Prime Minister, who will raise things in the caucus meetings.' But that is just a perception. I have now been disappointed by Senator Cameron. His latest foray in the caucus room—and it always manages to get into the newspaper, I should add—was to pretend that he was standing up to the Prime Minister, Ms Gillard, and ask about this latest deal, the so-called Malaysian solution. Senator Cameron quickly, as it was rightly described, rolled over. I have worked Senator Cameron out. He is a big disappointment. I am going to have to find another hero on the other side now, in the limited time I have—but I will be watching on A-PAC.