Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday the Prime Minister had this to say about the area of Sydney that I represent:

Mr Abbott's got to get off Sydney's north shore and go and talk to some real families and get himself in the real world.

The suggestion that the North Shore is not in the real world and is not populated by real families is deeply offensive. The communities of Sydney's North Shore, including my constituents in Bradfield, are as diverse and multifaceted as those anywhere in Australia. To stereotype the North Shore as some kind of Anglo-Celtic island of privilege is decades out of date. Just a few days ago I attended the Anzac Day service at a local public school, where over 80 per cent of students are from a non-English-speaking background. It is deeply unfortunate that the Prime Minister of this nation should choose to essentially write off the people of a particular community. The Prime Minister of this nation should be the Prime Minister for all Australians, but, for my constituents on the North Shore, she has demonstrated a degree of disregard which is truly shocking and disappointing. To characterise my constituents as not living in the real world is highly offensive, and I call upon the Prime Minister to apologise to the people of Sydney's North Shore.