Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to the Minister for Education's magnificent interview on Sky News in which he described himself as 'a fixer'. What exactly in higher education has 'the fixer' fixed?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Every single member of this government, in every single portfolio, is fixing Labor's mess. That is what we are doing. We are fixing Labor's mess. What we want to do is end Labor's fixation with central control by liberating our universities from the dead hand of Canberra. The Leader of the Opposition asks about the Minister for Education's interview. Well, what about the Leader of the Opposition's' interview with Leigh Sales in December? He said: 'What I'm spelling out is our direction for the future. If you don't know where you're going, any road'll get you there.' It is almost like an Irish joke!

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, on direct relevance: it is very easy to say a lot about that interview yesterday. The Prime Minister should be asked to withdraw.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat. The Prime Minister was quite within the broad nature of that question.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was asked about interviews and I am just referring to the interview with the Leader of the Opposition in which he said: 'What I'm spelling out is our direction for the future. If you don't know where you're going, any road'll get you there.' That was almost as good as his interview last Friday with Jon Faine in which he said his sole object in life was 'to ensure that everybody is somebody'—and then he said it was Martin Luther King! I tell you, it was the Travelling Wilburys!