Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

I'm not surprised that Senator Singh is asking me about the Victorian Liberal Party. She wouldn't want to ask me about the Tasmanian Liberal Party, because of course at the last election that the Tasmanian Liberal Party competed with the Tasmanian Labor Party—I'm just trying to remember what happened—that's right, the Hodgman government was returned. I think the Australian people can see what is happening here. We've got a Labor Party that is getting increasingly cocky. We've got a Labor Party that believes they've already won the next election. I would just gently remind you of 2001. We will do everything we can to be in the strongest possible position to win the next election. Talking about people taking views in relation to political parties, we know that Paul Keating has no confidence in Mr Shorten, because he is quoted as saying that Labor has lost the ability to speak aspirationally to people and to fashion policies to meet those aspirations. Of course that is absolutely right.