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

Thank you. For those who are listening: doesn't it show how touchy the Greens are, because it does go to the heart of the Greens political party and the fact they are a blot on the political landscape of the modern Australian democracy. Of course, we also have senators like Senator David Shoebridge, who only the slow of learning fail to take an instant dislike to when it comes to his conduct in this chamber and how he deals with fellow senators. We've also got Senator Faruqi, in terms of the manner in which she approaches development of land.

This is the party that the Labor Party are going to do a preference deal with. This is the party the Labor Party need so as to stay in power. The Labor Party are going to do a preference deal with an extreme political party who are on the far left of Australian politics but, more worryingly for Australians, are also on the far left of economic policy. If you're doing it tough now under the Labor Party, who, quite frankly, have trouble dealing with reality sometimes because everything is going so well under our semi-retired Prime Minister, just imagine how tough you're going to be doing it in a few months time because the Labor Party have had to do a preference deal with the Greens and, in the worst-case scenario, are in a minority government, with people like Adam Bandt, Nick McKim and those Rhodes scholar runners-up sitting around the cabinet table directing public policy.