House debates Questions without Notice
Morrison Government
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
2:00 pm
I thank the Prime Minister for that expression of bipartisanship on this issue. The fact is that the House is very much united in this. My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister agree with the Father of the House, the Liberal member for Menzies, who said today, 'If you can't govern yourselves, you can't govern the country'?
Scott Morrison Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
2:01 pm
I can assure the House that this government is united on the need to lower taxes. I can assure the House that the government are united on the need to build infrastructure, as we are, and we are united on the need to build the dams—that's climate action now. I can say that the government are united on the need to continue to expand our trade borders, as we have done. We've increased under this government the amount of two-way trade that is subject to export agreements from 26 per cent to 70 per cent. I can say absolutely that this government is united on the need to bring our Defence Force funding and spending to two per cent of GDP.
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
Yes. I didn't ask whether the government was united.
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
We know the answer to that, Mr Speaker.
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
I asked him whether he agreed with the comments of the member for Menzies.
Tony Smith Speaker
That last bit wasn't broadcast, because I asked the Leader of the Opposition if he was rising on a point of order and he has not stated what the point of order is. I'm going to give the Leader of the Opposition an opportunity to state what his point of order is, not to restate the question. Okay?
Anthony Albanese Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition
Relevance, Mr Speaker. We didn't ask about the unity of the government. We know the answer to that.
Tony Smith Speaker
The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. I'm just going to say to the Leader of the Opposition—and I'm still pondering whether the question is strictly in order—that, being the generous person I am, I refer you to—
Mr Albanese interjecting—
I don't have to be generous, if you're going to complain. I've made the point before when questions of this sort of wide-ranging nature are asked that you can't demand the responder simply give a 'yes' or 'no' answer, so I think it did open the gates quite wide. The Prime Minister has the call.
Scott Morrison Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
I can tell you that we're united on the need to take action on the drought and support drought funds. I can tell you that we're united on the position of having temporary exclusion orders for terrorists and mandatory sentencing for paedophiles and on cracking down on farm invaders. I can tell the House that we're united on the need to ensure that we meet our emissions reduction targets, not by increasing taxes on people, not by putting up people's electricity prices and not by walking away from the jobs of Australians in rural and regional areas. That's what we're united on.
Ms Butler interjecting—
Scott Morrison Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
We're united on what we took to the Australian people. What we took to the Australian people was an economic plan to create jobs, and that's what's happening. That's what we took to the Australian people. Once upon a time there was a Labor government that actually did believe in creating jobs. It was the Hawke-Keating government. Given he is referring to a comment that was first made by the former Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, I will refer to what the Leader of the Opposition used to say about the Hawke government. He said, in an article quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald, 'The Hawke government had lost touch with people. When they talk about wages and budget deficits, they talk about it like it's out of a text box. They appear to have an absolute contempt for working-class people. Someone like Keating can put himself up as the possible Labor PM but he is more comfortable mixing with millionaires and business executives than he is with working-class people.' This mob are not a patch on Hawke and Keating. They have nothing in common with them.
Mr Tony Burke Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts
I'd ask the Prime Minister to quote the article from the previous millennium that he was quoting from.
Mr Tony Burke Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts
Any in the previous century that he was quoting from?
Tony Smith Speaker
The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. Was the Prime Minister quoting from a confidential document?