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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Yesterday and today the Prime Minister has failed four times to rule out pay cuts for AFP officers, including his own protection detail, by claiming that negotiations were occurring at arm's length from government. But the previous Prime Minister, the member for Warringah, was willing to step in to resolve the pay increase problems with the Australian Defence Forces. Why is this Prime Minister unwilling to step up and take the same action as the former Prime Minister to look after AFP officers, who also keep Australian safe?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The AFP are very lucky they do not have Leader of the Opposition representing them because we know what he does—in return for $75,000 from Clean Event to the AWU they ended up getting $18 an hour when it should have been $50. That was a great outcome, a great case of negotiation.

Let us be quite clear: throughout my life I have represented many people; I have represented people with lots of money and people with no money; I have represented the battlers and I have represented the big end of town. But the one thing I have always done is I have always done the best for them. Now I am representing every Australian and I am doing the best for them now—

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. Members on both sides will cease interjecting. The Manager of Opposition Business has the call.

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

On direct relevance—the question goes directly to the pay and conditions of the people on the Prime Minister's own protection detail, and he should be relevant at some point in the answer to them.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Manager of Opposition Business, I have heard your point of order. I listened very carefully to the question and I have a summary of it here. The Prime Minister is relating his material to the substance of the question. I am listening to him very carefully—he is relevant so far. I call the Prime Minister.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When you take the lives and destinies of other people in your hands and when you represent them, you owe it to them to do your best, you owe it to them to tell them the truth and that is what I have done right through my life. But not the Leader of the Opposition—he has hidden one payment after another, one cash payment from an employer after another. He would not even tell his members the truth about a political donation. That is what we are talking about here: we are talking about character, conviction and commitment. The Leader of the Opposition lacks them all. He would not stand up for anybody, apart from himself.

I have built businesses, I have employed workers, I have striven to employ more Australians in more jobs in more businesses and now, as Prime Minister, I and all of my government stand up for Australians, defending their jobs, securing their future. What does the Leader of the Opposition do? He sells them out, just like he sold out the members of the AWU—just like he would sell out Australia if he got to run it like union.

Government members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my right.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.