Christopher Back (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive—reference Wong, Senator P, 13 February 2017, Senate of the Australian parliament. What confected outrage did we hear from Senator Wong and Senator Chisholm from Queensland in terms of apparent deals for preferences. But wasn't Senator Chisholm cut down instantly by none other than the architect of all this—Senator Hanson herself. Let me quote from only a few minutes ago in this place. This is Senator Hanson responding to the outrage of Senator Chisholm: 'Thank you very much. Well, isn't it amazing what comes across this chamber? You must be really worried about One Nation.'

The whole fact is that Labor has approached One Nation for preferences. Oh, but you do not want to talk about that one. 'How about Evan Moorhead, the Queensland state secretary?' she said to Senator Chisholm. 'You're a former state secretary. Well, he actually called up my staff on 25 January this year and he wanted to do a grubby deal with us.' What a web we weave in this place. So it has come home to roost, has it not—all the confected outrage from Senator Wong and Senator Chisholm, and all we see of course is the hypocrisy, which has been exposed so brilliantly by Senator Hanson. When I say 'hypocrisy', do I think back to some of the preference deals that have been done in her own home state of South Australia—the deal done between the state Labor government of then Premier Wran—