Andrew Gee (Calare, National Party, Minister for Decentralisation and Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

And then the member for Hunter called the member for Isaacs an idiot. Very unparliamentary. It was very disturbing to see the dysfunction and division on that side of the House.

I was very heartened to see the member for Hunter in, I think, today's Sydney Morning Herald dispensing advice to the Leader of the Opposition in the third person—basically saying the Leader of the Opposition should listen to the member for Hunter. We won't be lectured by those opposite on issues of climate, particularly when we bear in mind that their uncosted climate policies played a big role in the Australian electorate dispensing them and dispatching them during the last election. I think the Australian people see through the shenanigans on the other side. I think they see the dysfunction.

We as a nation have welcomed the fact that the United States is committed to the Paris Agreement under president-elect Biden. We've already committed to it. We have been deeply committed to that agreement since its signing in 2015, and we're on track to meet it. I think the Prime Minister has made it very clear in question time that you have to be honest with the Australian people about where these policies go. I think we saw during the last election the paucity of policy work that had gone into the Labor Party's climate policies. We've seen it writ large with the dysfunction, disharmony and discord within the ranks of the opposition, abusing each other in shadow cabinet meetings. Very, very sad to see.

See this speech in context