Tim Hammond (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In my home state of Western Australia today we have seen a Faustian bargain of grand proportions, and that is a preference deal between the Liberal Party and the One Nation party to put the One Nation party ahead of its grand old partner the National Party.

What we see is the real prospect, if Malcolm Turnbull and Colin Barnett get their way—

Mark Coulton (Parkes, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, I remind the member for Perth of titles—

Tim Hammond (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker—of a Liberal Party-One Nation coalition government, if Colin Barnett gets his way. It is a grubby and undignified grasp for power, destroying a longstanding relationship with the National Party.

And what has it done in this place? Well, it has taken a nanosecond to bring division to the fore. We have seen the Deputy Prime Minister condemning the deal that has been done in Western Australia. We see a former Prime Minister making it very clear that it would not happen on his watch. We see a current Prime Minister crab walking away from his announcement that in the course of their campaign One Nation were an unwelcome presence.

This is the epitome of populism, selling out policies and selling out principle. It is a deal which has a clear threat for trade and tourism and it is simply a deal which will do nothing but legitimise the far Right of our society, because xenophobia is still xenophobia.

We contrast that with Mark McGowan's principled stance of not preferencing One Nation. What we see is a premier selling out what he stands for in a desperate attempt to cling to power, straight out of the Prime Minister's playbook.