Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Brandis. On Sunday the Leader of the Government in the Senate was recorded telling Mr Michael Kroger that the Queensland Liberal National Party is 'very, very mediocre'. Does the Leader of the Government in the Senate stand by this statement?

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I did make some observations about Queensland politics on Sunday morning during the course of what I understood to be a private conversation. But, nevertheless, since you have referred to it, Senator Moore, one of the things I said during the course of making those observations was that the Queensland government is very, very mediocre. And so it is. This is the record of mediocrity of the Queensland government. Since the start of this year alone under the Palaszczuk Labor government 68,000 Queenslanders have lost their jobs and another 90,000 have given up looking for work. That is the record.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Gallagher, a point of order?

Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have a point of order on relevance. As interesting as the Leader of the Government in the Senate can be, the question was very specific around the Queensland Liberal National Party and the comments that the leader made saying that they were 'very, very mediocre'. It was not about the government of Queensland.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Attorney-General is in response to the question, which did have the component, 'Does the Leader of the Government in the Senate stand by his statement?' The Attorney-General acknowledged the comments up-front in his answer. He did not detract those comments, so I will take it that he does stand by his comments and he is enhancing his answer, as all ministers are entitled to do.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think it is only honest for the full sentence to be quoted, Senator Moore, in relation to the great mediocrity of the Palaszczuk Labor government. Do you know, Senator Moore—and you should—that Queensland is now Australia's most greatly indebted state? This is for a population, by the way, of some 4.9 million people. State debt is now almost $80 billion—more than $15,000 of state debt for every man, woman and child in Queensland. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Queensland, at six per cent, is 0.4 per cent above the national average and has been so consistently.

Senator Moore, you and I both have the good fortune to come from Queensland. We are used to Queensland being a powerhouse economy. We are used to Queensland riding the mining boom—riding the economic wave. But, under the Palaszczuk Labor government, Queensland has stopped dead in its tracks.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Moore, a supplementary question.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I refer to assistant minister Jane Prentice, also a Queenslander, who said that Senator Brandis's criticisms of his own party were, 'a bit harsh,' and suggested that the ABC interview Senator Brandis himself and some of his Queensland LNP colleagues to, 'see what they think of his performance'.

Senator O'Sullivan interjecting—

Can the Leader of the Government in the Senate explain why his colleagues—maybe including Senator O'Sullivan—think that it is his performance that is very, very mediocre?

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Moore, I am only responsible for my own observations, my own statements, and I will elaborate upon the statement that I made that the Labor government of Queensland is very, very mediocre. Let me tell you further, Senator Moore, why I say that and why I made that observation on Sunday. Do you know that the Queensland Labor government promised the sky, when it was elected, in infrastructure projects under its Building our Regions program? Do you know what percentage of those projects have even commenced? One per cent of the Building our Regions projects have even begun, and you wonder why I say, Senator Moore, that under the Palaszczuk Labor government Queensland, which is so used to being one of the boom economies of the nation, has come to a halt.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Moore, a final supplementary question.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Though I know the Leader of the Government in the Senate is only responsible for his own comments, I wonder whether he would agree with one of his LNP colleagues who said, 'London can't come soon enough'?

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, I do not quite understand that reference, so let me expand on what I was saying in response to your initial question. Here we have the labour force indicators for Queensland, issued by the Queensland government economic strategy division, for October 2016. Trend employment, trend unemployment, the participation rate and the number of employed—every metric of employment in Queensland—have deteriorated month on month, quarter on quarter and since the beginning of the Palaszczuk Labor government. Every single metric of employment has deteriorated, and you wonder, Senator Moore, why I say the Queensland Labor government is very, very mediocre. In fact, that description, given their performance, is charitable. (Time expired)