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

Senator Wong, I think, if I may say so, that Ms Bishop has been one of Australia's outstanding Ministers for Foreign Affairs. That is a fact, which, by the way—in a rare glimpse of personal grace—you yourself came close to acknowledging yesterday when you said Ms Bishop has been, I think your words were, 'a credible and effective Minister for Foreign Affairs'. And, indeed, she has been. I can assure you, Senator Wong, that Australia's relationship with one of our oldest and closest friends, New Zealand, will be entirely unaffected by any change of government in New Zealand.

The conduct of the public diplomacy in Australia by the Minister for Foreign Affairs over the last four years has been exemplary—and it will continue to be exemplary. The only person and the only political party that has caused embarrassment to the government of New Zealand, Senator Wong, is you and your party, by seeking to inveigle the New Zealand parliament into a domestic Australian political dispute. This is what, might I remind you, the Prime Minister of New Zealand himself, Bill English, had to say in question time in the New Zealand parliament yesterday:

These are serious issues, to interfere in another country's politics and it appears there's been significant misjudgement by the member's fellow opposition party.

He was referring to the Australian Labor Party, Senator Wong. That is the party that the Prime Minister of New Zealand was accusing of interfering in another country's politics. And, Senator Wong, Mr Bill English is right.