Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Hansard source

It is obvious that the government does not want to hear a point of view on the ministerial statement or its treatment of the men who serve us in Afghanistan. Today, the minister was absolutely rattled. He drew some very long bows—which we will get to a bit later on. He has failed our men in Afghanistan, and today he wants to stand on the high moral ground. I say again: this Labor government has made the safety of our men serving overseas a fourth-order priority. This is the minister who rides around the world thumping his chest, thinking he is dictating to others, but carries no weight at all. When it comes to our men, he is prepared to take shortcuts. I will get to those at a later time, because they have consumed all of the time in this statement.

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