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

I rise today just to point out to the chamber the details of a sleazy preference deal that has been reached in New South Wales between the Liberals and the Greens. The deal, which has been kept secret from voters to date, is a complete betrayal of those who claim to be representing the conservative side of politics and those who claim to be representing a progressive component of the Australian electorate. What is the deal? The deal, unprecedented, is that the Greens are preferencing the Nationals last in the one Liberal-National contest that there is, in Port Macquarie. They are putting all other parties, including the extremist anti-vax party, ahead of the Nationals, who they are putting last. And what is the New South Wales Greens political party getting in return? They're getting preferences from Dom Perrottet—Mr Perrottet—and Mr Dutton's party, the Liberals, in Balmain, Newtown and Summer Hill. This unprecedented sleazy political arrangement has been kept secret from voters in Balmain, Newtown, Summerhill and Port Macquarie. It deserves to be exposed.

Voters ought to repudiate the New South Wales Greens political party and the Liberals doing sleazy deals. Besides the New South Wales Nationals, who knows what other concessions have been made by Mr Perrottet and Mr Dutton in order to secure New South Wales Greens' preferences to support their preferred candidate in Port Macquarie? (Time expired)