Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That all words after “That” be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:“The House refer the issue of the exchange between the Member for Robertson and the Member for Indi on the 28th of May and the subsequent withdrawal and apology by the Member for Robertson at 9 a.m. on the 29th of May to the Privileges and Members’ Interests Committee.”

That is actually the appropriate way that we conduct affairs in this House. We do it professionally and we do it in a way which brings credit to all those who have the privilege of being in this chamber. That is an extraordinary motion. You cannot refer something to the Standing Committee on Privileges and Members’ Interests for determination by moving a two-page motion containing innuendo, a position and assertions of fact. Those on this side of the chamber have nothing whatsoever to fear from the privileges committee investigating any member at any time.

This is a very interesting precedent, however—I do say that. A number of interjections have crossed this chamber from time to time—I just make that point—including from the member for Indi. I look forward to an appropriate investigation of just these matters, because those opposite, as obsessed as they are by short-term political opportunism, need to understand that, every time they choose the short-term political opportunistic road, eventually it comes around. Just as the behaviour before this House in relation to the Friday sittings led to a diminution of private members’ business and a diminution of the ability of private members to put things before this chamber, just as the four motions of dissent from the Speaker’s ruling that have been moved lead to a cheapening of the way that standing orders are discussed in this chamber, and just as moving over 280 points of order means that, when points of order are raised, they are taken less seriously than they would be otherwise, those opposite need to understand that there is a consequence for their short-term political opportunism.

Those on this side have made it very clear—the Prime Minister made it clear and I made it clear this morning when asked—that, if the opposition want to refer things to the Privileges Committee, then the government would have no objection to that whatsoever. They are so predictable, in fact, that we prepared the amendment. One of the things characterising those opposite is that they always go a step too far. Today, in trying to make a point about supermarket prices, they ridiculed people who would look for specials. In the way that they conduct both policy debates and procedural debates in this chamber, they continually go a step too far because they are so desperate. It is not about the people of Australia; it is about their internals. Everything that they do is about their internals. Today we had the shadow Treasurer—

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