Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition’s answer to his failure to consult is: sometimes it is better to ask forgiveness than permission. The next time he wanted to go into his party room with a proposal for acceptance—this was the $10,000 stay at home payment for mums—rather than showing forgiveness they just rejected him. So do not come into this place and lecture us about lack of consultation.

I said the other day that I was consulted in relation to the RSPT. I stand by that. What I do say is that this is a government that is united in the purpose of better returns to this nation of what the nation owns, and that is the resource base.

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