Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

He tries, but he is not very good at it. For somebody who is the Minister for Arts, he obviously failed his auditions this week. And today we saw a grand performance of how he can slap the lectern when he is trying to make a point, when he can yell and then we have those on the other side, Senator Macdonald, wanting to have the microphones turned up. What a performance—what a pitiful performance from those opposite.

Let us turn to the comments that were made today by the Attorney-General in relation to the allegations that this government paid those smugglers. To turn back the boats, the Prime Minister and those opposite have always said that they would do 'what has to be done'. Today we heard that, no, they have done everything within the law; but they still have not answered whether cash was handed over to the people smugglers. They still refuse to say that. But they have not addressed the morality of this act.