Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Bilyk, I can accept that one comment from one Labor member may not be enough. So let me give you another. Let me give you the comments of Mr Richard Marles, the member for Corio, on 12 September. He was reported in the West Australian newspaper—very reliable journal that it is. He said that Labor needed to choose its battles carefully, and:

We do need to acknowledge the fact that Tony Abbott won the election and we lost, …

Of course, some Labor senators might prefer to hear from former Labor members—indeed, former Labor premiers. So I might share with you what Bob Carr had to say some years ago about the electorally-sensitive matter of political mandates. What did Bob Carr have to say? He was talking on Channel 9 in 1998 about the Howard government—their re-election and the importance of their mandate.