Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern and Remote Australia) Share this | Hansard source

Okay, I withdraw that. Sorry, Mr Deputy President.

Things like Ms Gillard deliberately misleading and telling untruths to the Australian public before the last election. And the media criticised her for that, validly. But Senator Conroy and Ms Gillard do not like that, so what do you do? You do not try and run a decent government that is honest and democratic; you shut down the media. You are certainly going to put in a government watchdog over the media which will make sure that the government's view predominates.

No other Prime Minister in Australia's history has ever attempted to muzzle the press as Ms Gillard has done. You might recall that she had a go at this a few years or so ago when she called in the media proprietors. They were running stories about her dodgy dealings as part of Slater & Gordon, with the slush fund for the unions. You will remember when those stories were being accurately reported and that Ms Gillard did not like that, so she called the media proprietors in. She threatened them at the time, and for a moment it did have some use.

Mr Deputy President Ludlam, I wonder if you are going to keep talking all the way through my presentation? Are you going to keep talking to the minister all the way through my presentation?