Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. In question time, the Prime Minister told the House, and I quote:

I came to this position of leadership not seeking it, in support of the previous Prime Minister.

Does he stand by that answer, given that the member for Warringah has told journalist David Speers that the now Prime Minister 'parlayed his half-a-dozen votes into the prime ministership, manoeuvring to bring on the spill and to then harvest Turnbull votes to get the top job'? Is the reason why the Prime Minister won't explain why Malcolm Turnbull was deposed that he was up to his neck in it? (Time expired)

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

The Leader of the House?

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, clearly the Prime Minister is not responsible for the comments of any other member in this parliament, including the member for Warringah. It's not within his responsibilities.

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

The Manager of Opposition Business.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question begins by quoting what the Prime Minister said in question time. The information that was provided later in the question goes to contradict that directly, and we're asking whether he stands by it.

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

The Manager of Opposition Business can resume his seat. I'm going to refer members to my earlier rulings and to a very similar question. It offends another part of my earlier ruling—and it's a regret that it's the member for Isaacs again, I have to say—that is, that the majority of the question was out of order. I've made that point very clear. The Prime Minister is not responsible for the comments of other members who aren't ministers. And, as I've said, I'm not simply going to allow a tagline just with a reference to open it up to any sort of question and any sort of dialogue that is out of order. The majority of that question is out of order, and I think anyone drafting it would have known it. I'll hear the Manager of Opposition Business again.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given that the Prime Minister made the comment that we referred to at the beginning of the question, 'I came to this position of leadership not seeking it,' how can we test whether he stands by that without putting quotations that directly contradict it to it him?

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

I think you can think about that while we go to the next question and see if you can frame it better.