House debates Questions without Notice
Prime Minister
Stephen Jones Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer
2:30 pm
My question is to the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister claimed he'd never used the phrase 'Shanghai Sam' in relation to former senator Sam Dastyari. Given he used that exact phrase 17 times on 11 occasions, why did the Prime Minister claim he had never used the term when that simply wasn't true?
Scott Morrison Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
I'm not aware of the claim that you're referring to, and I'm not going to take it at face value from those opposite.
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Hon. Members:
Honourable members interjecting—
Andrew Wallace Fisher, Liberal Party
Order! I'll get the Prime Minister to start again. I couldn't hear that.
Scott Morrison Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
I'm not aware of the claim that the member is making, and I'm not about to accept claims at face value from those opposite. I'm not about to accept that from those opposite. The Labor Party thinks sledging, whining and whinging is a policy. That's not how you actually run a government. They have no alternative plans and they have no alternative policies, so they come here every day and engage in personal attacks on me as the Prime Minister. That's okay. Bring it on. If you want to engage in personal sledging and have a crack at where I go for holidays and if I go home and spend Father's Day with my family, bring it on. Bring it on if that's what you're on about.
Honourable members interjecting—
Andrew Wallace Fisher, Liberal Party
The Prime Minister will resume his seat.
Honourable members interjecting—
Order! If I can't hear the Prime Minister, I can't rule on points of order. The Manager of Opposition Business.
Mr Tony Burke Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Arts
On direct relevance: there is no way that this is relevant to any of the 17 times that he used the term that he's being asked about.
Andrew Wallace Fisher, Liberal Party
I would ask the Prime Minister to be relevant to the question.
Scott Morrison Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
On the topic of former Labor Senator Dastyari, I remember those issues very well because it was former Labor Senator Dastyari who stood up with an official—
Andrew Wallace Fisher, Liberal Party
I was correcting the member for Wills and cautioning him.
Scott Morrison Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I remember it was former Labor Senator Dastyari who disgraced himself by undermining Australia's sovereignty in relation to a foreign country. That's what former Senator Dastyari did, and he had to leave this place in disgrace. We have seen so many other Labor members, whether at a state level or former Labor members of this place, up on charges, off to jail. They've got enough people in Silverwater prison now to start a branch of the Labor Party there. That's what's going on with the Labor Party, and you can't trust Labor with money, because they're always after yours.
Honourable members interjecting—
Andrew Wallace Fisher, Liberal Party
Order! Once again, the level of interjections is too high.