Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge your admonishment and I shall refer to Ms Gillard under her proper title. It is very important that Australians recognise that Ms Gillard may be their next Prime Minister. I am glad that we are talking about the wealth of talent. The opposition talk about a civil war. Last night, apparently, I was at a civil war; it was called a birthday party, and I spoke to the Treasurer and the Prime Minister, who were talking to each other. They seemed quite civil. There were no blows. Everyone was having a pretty good time.

The Labor Party is harking back to prehistory to come up with the astounding proposition that there are a number of people who want and aspire to be the Prime Minister of this nation in a champion team, which the coalition is. It is a champion team that has delivered the greatest flow of wealth to the individual in recent history. It is a champion team that has given people the capacity to be the greater benefactors of wealth in our nation. I look forward to the day that we will have a Prime Minister Costello, because if we do not have a Prime Minister Costello we will probably end up with Ms Gillard as Prime Minister.

Mr Garrett would be an interesting concept for the environment minister—the man who is more compromise than compromise. More compromise than the Vichy French in the positions that he has changed. He has changed every position he has ever had. I think he is about to maybe regrow some hair because every other position that Mr Garrett has ever stood for has been completely put aside. This leads us to the question of the Labor Left, that once noble body of people who raged against the system and stood up for the rights of the Left. They have been completely and utterly worked over. They are the complete and utter doormats of the Labor Right. They are just there to make up the numbers. At times when they wake up and listen to their fearless leader, Kevin07, as he calls himself, they must wonder what party they are in. The Labor Left has to wake up and say: ‘Oh, now we’re believing in uranium mining. We’re believing in terrorism laws. We believe in the Indigenous plan. We believe in the coalition’s economic policy.’ It is amazing that a lot of them stay there. They are great advocates. Come on over! It is only a short walk. The question is: when is the Labor Left actually going to stand up and grow some courage? (Time expired)