James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

This government attacked the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Dutton. Mr Dutton is someone who has spent his life keeping Australians safe. He worked as a police officer in the sex offenders squad in Queensland. He is someone who worked for the National Crime Authority. He is someone who has come to Canberra to keep Australians safe, bringing the skills he learned as a Queensland police officer. And what did Labor ministers call Mr Dutton? They called him a protector of paedophiles. This is the modern Labor Party for you—this chaotic, catastrophic government that isn't keeping Australians safe. It is blaming Peter Dutton.

I'm not keen to agree with Senator McKim, but he is correct: Mr Dutton, as Leader of the Opposition, is perhaps the most powerful Leader of the Opposition this country has ever seen because of his ability to set the agenda and because of what is happening in this chamber at this particular moment in time. It is Mr Dutton, it is Senator Cash, it is Senator Paterson, it is Mr Tehan who are setting the agenda—

G overnment member s interjecting