Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I did want to contribute to this important amendment, but before I do that can I just respond—this is a debate—to Senator Cameron. What did he call me? A 'right-wing ideologue'? Well, I have always classed myself in the moderate wing of the Liberal Party—not that we have factions within the Liberal Party. But I have always classed myself on the Left of the party. Now, I am fortunate that a lot of the things that some of my other colleagues raise I agree with, because we do not have these rigid factions like the Labor Party or the Greens political party. We are a party for all people.

I just wonder what Senator Cameron is on about. That was a 15-minute filibuster. He said about 15 times that he wanted to vote on the bill, but he kept talking for 15 minutes on a fairly simple amendment. But for some reason, Senator Cameron went off onto the ABC, South Australia and Pauline Hanson—and I can see Senator Xenophon trembling in his boots as a result of his vicious attack on him, saying that Pauline Hanson is more effective. That was a real killer, Senator Cameron!

Can I just say in relation to the ABC—Senator Cameron has been speaking about it; I was not going to, but this is a debate and he has raised the issue—that I wonder what Senator Cameron has against Sky News, when we have Peter Beattie, the former Labor Premier of Queensland, on Sky News? We have Graham Richardson, who I had the misfortune to be in this chamber with for a number of years many centuries ago. I know Richo, and I know what he is like. You should love him, Senator Cameron—although I suspect he was in the other faction to you.

And what about that respected former leader of the Labor Party, Mr Latham? He is on Sky News regularly. He was a revered leader of the Labor Party and we all think he is pretty good these days, actually! We agree with you Labor Party people! You are right with Mr Latham; he is quite an impressive fellow. And Kristina Keneally—I think she was a wonderful leader in New South Wales. I do not understand why the Labor Party dumped her. Why did they execute Kristina Keneally? I thought she was one of the best premiers that the Labor Party had had in New South Wales for a long period of time and yet the Labor Party got rid of her.

These people are all people on Sky News, and I do not understand what Senator Cameron has against all those Labor luminaries, unless it is of course that they are in a different faction to him—unless they are not in the CFMEU faction that I think Senator Cameron is in, and certainly Senator Wong is in.

On the issue of the ABC board going out into regional and rural Queensland, remote from the capital cities: I think it is a wonderful idea. I love the ABC. Can I just say that I love the ABC in regional Australia. They are doing what they are supposed to do by their charter, and I congratulate the communications minister for overseeing such a wonderful organisation in country and rural Australia. ABC Rural does not always agree with me—they do not always run me—but they are at least balanced. And I cannot say the same for what comes out of Ultimo.

I had the misfortune on Sunday morning to be riding my bike around and I had my earphones in—they were on ABC NewsRadio and they were broadcasting Insiders. I was too intent on my bike ride to stop and take the earphones out so I had to listen to it. It is the first time I have heard Insiders for about 10 years. I refuse to listen to it because if I want to hear that sort of stuff I will go along to the local ALP branch meeting. As I said on my Facebook page, the greatest thing about Insiders is that it means that Labor Party people do not have to go to a branch meeting on Sunday morning; they just turn on Insiders. They get all the info from the ALP and they get all the bias—the balanced board they always have! The bloke that runs that—wasn't he a former Labor Party staffer? Is that right? That Barrie Cassidy?

As I said, I do not bother. I would not listen to it normally, but I was forced to listen to it on Sunday morning and it has not changed in 10 years. It is just the Ultimo branch of the ALP, spewing out all the ALP lines all the time. At least on Sky News we get a little—is Bolt on Sky News? I do not watch it—