Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Hansard source

There have been other important visits to Australia by United States presidents. Famously, Lyndon Johnson visited when he was President of the United States. George Bush visited and spoke to the parliament. Lyndon Johnson did not in fact address the parliament. Bill Clinton visited the parliament when I was a member of parliament, George Bush Jr also visited Australia and spoke to the parliament when I was in this place. Now it will be President Obama. It will be a historic, important and very interesting visit to this country by the president of essentially the free world, the leader of the free world, the president of Australia's most important ally historically for 60 years.

It is just remarkable the sanctimony and the piety coming from the Labor Party when we are discussing this motion. They should be embarrassed about what a shambolic rabble their government has become. Rather than taking it in their stride, they are pretending that somehow they have some moral superiority on that side of the House to this side of the House. You should be embarrassed—the government should be embarrassed. Only this week, when the minister for immigration and the shadow minister for immigration had agreed not to play politics about the tragic drowning of people seeking asylum off Indonesia, the Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O'Connor, was attacking the opposition, that night at the same time. You come into this place right now and try and take some moral superiority—

Mr Albanese interjecting—

Ms Macklin interjecting—

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