Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

Goodness gracious me. Here we are. It's obviously term four and everybody is tired and has got the sillies. This is the greatest effort inside baseball that you could imagine. This is the week where the government is going to introduce sensible reforms in industrial relations that are going to make the country a better place. They are going to be good for our workplaces. This is the week that the government's going to introduce what the last government couldn't do, couldn't bring itself to do, reforms to introduce a national integrity commission, National Anti-Corruption Commission.

This is the week where the modern Liberal Party—which had decided to tie its fortunes to the bunch of rat bags, nutters and conspiracy theorists who are enlarging themselves in the Liberal Party's base in Victoria—decide to tie themselves to some people who you wouldn't want to have a beer with. You would avoid them at parties. It's the extremist takeover of the Victorian Liberal Party. They've seen the culmination and the impact of that strategy. What was the outcome? The re-election of the Andrews government, fewer Liberals, a few more Nationals and they've preferenced straight home and elected a few more Greens in a few inner-city seats. What utter genius.

In this week, where we're going to see the former Prime Minister being censured, what is Senator Bragg in here talking about? Some arcane issue to do with the negotiation of financial sector reform. What is the real backdrop to this? What's really going on? The previous government, and the previous government before that, resisted. They fought the idea of having the Hayne royal commission tooth and nail. They didn't want it. They didn't want it to happen, to protect the interests of people who had done unscrupulous things in the financial services sector. Senator Bragg's friends have done unscrupulous things. It's their interests that he's in here trying to protect.

Remember that they fought so hard to stop there being a proper inquiry into all of those matters. Then finally, they were forced—dragged, kicking and screaming—into having a royal commission. It was headed by former Justice Hayne, who did a very solid piece of work, a very careful piece of work. And don't forget the photos. There is a lot of bring 'back Josh stuff' going now on in Victoria: 'Bring back Josh!' We had an incremental few degrees—