Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Deputy Prime Minister. I refer to the Deputy Prime Minister's previous answers this week about his capacity to work with women in regional Australia. Two state National Party leaders, a party trustee, a former chair of the party's Women's Council, the founder of Australian Women in Agriculture and multiple National MPs, all regional women, say he can't be trusted to work with women. Can he confirm that he is replacing his predecessor on the cabinet task force for the status of women? And why do so many women in regional Australia who know him say he's not fit for the job?

Barnaby Joyce (New England, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for her question. I don't agree with the assertions. As stated yesterday, every person in their life always tries to be a better person, and I'm no different.

Hon. Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Before I call the member for Goldstein—if members could cease interjecting—I'll say, just for the clarity of the House, that whilst it hasn't been a regular practice, certainly until recently, for questions to be regularly transferred, I will just flag that there's further guidance in Practice, later on in the chapter on question time, that does state:

It is in order for more than one Minister to answer a particular question without notice in the case of shared responsibility.

That was the point I was trying to find before, without detaining the House. The member for Goldstein.