Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of the answers to questions posed by Senator Moore to Senator Cash today. I have to say I was shocked by Senator Cash's answers to Senator Moore's questions. I was shocked that we would have a minister for women, among whose responsibilities is the protection of women from domestic violence, who seems to have no concern whatsoever for the disgraceful comments made by Senator Hanson and her candidates regarding domestic violence. Senator Moore asked Senator Cash whether she had spoken with Senator Hanson about Senator Hanson's policy that supports violent fathers having visitation rights to their children even when there are court issued protection orders to protect children from those violent fathers. You would think that, if this minister were doing her job properly—standing up for the rights of women fleeing from domestic violence—she would actually take it seriously and she would have a word to Senator Hanson about that policy. She didn't answer that whatsoever. She clearly has not spoken to Senator Hanson about that point. Similarly, Senator Cash has done nothing about the offensive comments put forward by one of Senator Hanson's candidates for the state election regarding domestic violence which were made on his own business's social media pages. As I say, you would think that a minister who was serious about her responsibilities to protect women from domestic violence would do something about that and would take Senator Hanson aside and say, 'Look, what you're saying is unacceptable; maybe you don't understand the issues at play, but here's my perspective,' but she clearly hasn't done anything of the sort.

We know why Senator Cash never takes Senator Hanson on about these matters, and that's because she desperately needs the votes of Senator Hanson and her fellow senators in Canberra to get anything done. We've all seen Senator Cash taking Senator Hanson aside, having a good old joke and giving a pat on the back and a bit of a hug. She's constantly and desperately schmoozing Senator Hanson for her votes. That's why Senator Cash is never prepared to have a hard conversation with Senator Hanson about the grossly offensive and, in some cases, dangerous positions and comments from her party. We also know that Senator Cash has a long history with One Nation. She was one of the architects of the deal between One Nation and the Liberal Party in the Western Australia election. She doesn't want to admit that, but we know that they—she and Senator Cormann—went out for a nice private dinner and did the deal to get those preferences exchanged. So she has form in ignoring and turning a blind eye to the worst excesses of One Nation in order to get their votes here and in order to get their preferences in elections.

But what is going on here at the moment is about a different preference deal. It's not about Western Australian preference deals; it's about Queensland preference deals.

Senator O'Sullivan interjecting—

Senator O'Sullivan probably knows about them as well. The state LNP in Queensland have repeatedly said, 'Oh, no, there's no preference deal between us and One Nation—none at all.' Senator Cash stood up here today and said it again—'No, no, I don't know anything about a preference deal'—just like she didn't know anything about a preference deal in Western Australia, even though she did the deal over a dinner with One Nation. How else do you explain that, in the Queensland state election, the LNP gave its preferences to One Nation in 49 seats—over half of the seats that are being contested? And that's ignoring the large number of seats in which One Nation isn't even standing a candidate.

The Gold Coast is one of the areas that I've been spending most of my time campaigning in and doing most of my activity. We all know that is a key battleground in this election, where there are a number of highly vulnerable LNP seats that are at risk of falling to Labor. Rather than cutting a preference deal with One Nation there, what the LNP and One Nation have done is come to an arrangement where One Nation won't even stand a candidate. That's their way of propping up vulnerable LNP members on the Gold Coast, as they are in so many other places. So Senator Cash and the state LNP back in Queensland are saying: 'No, believe us: there's no deal here whatsoever, just like there's never been a deal anywhere else. It just so happens that, in 49 seats, we're giving One Nation our preferences and, in a number of other seats, including our most vulnerable seats, One Nation isn't even standing a candidate.' If that's not a deal, I don't know what is. How could the Queensland LNP be doing a deal with One Nation? That is a party that makes offensive statements and has offensive positions, policy-wise, on domestic violence. They have a senator who walks in here dressed in a burqa and shames some of our multicultural communities. They're out there—and forgive the language, Mr Acting Deputy President Sterle—saying teachers are teaching kids to strap on dildos. And there is the chaos from the anti-vaxxers about autism. Why does the LNP keep doing deals with One Nation? (Time expired)