Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of answers given by Senator Abetz and Senator Cormann today in particular. Senators must have forgotten over the Christmas break what the purpose of question time is, because the answers given today bear little resemblance to the questions asked. It also seems that the entire Parliamentary Liberal Party has forgotten the purpose of government. They are now completely consumed not with matters that are important to the people of Australia but, rather, matters of personality in their own party and who could win a high-school popularity contest—the cool kid in his leather jacket, the member for Wentworth, or the athlete, the Prime Minister.

Today, the Australian people have been done a great disservice by the Liberal Party, who are unrepentant. In his answers today, Senator Abetz seemed unfazed by the fact that his Prime Minister bound his cabinet to support him at today's Libspill, taking away from the party room their usually robust free vote that we hear about so often. But even forcing his cabinet colleagues' support was not enough to make Tony Abbott's leadership secure.