Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Because I hear a lot about what happens in your party room. We do know that your party room is riven with division on a whole range of issues. It is riven with division on economic issues, because the National Party are leading you by the nose on economic issues. Imagine: Senator Joyce might be running your economic policy. He demanded that he wanted to run the economic policy, and what happened? The Leader of the Opposition said, 'Oh, Senator Joyce, you can have what you like.' What happened? Six weeks later he had to be sacked. But Senator Joyce will be back. He will out-muscle the Liberals on this. He will be back trying to run the economic policy of Australia, and what a horror story that would be. Imagine the National Party holding the economic levers of this country. The supine, absolutely hopeless Liberal Party are allowing the National Party to drag them by the nose. We know what is happening in the coalition party room. We know there are debates about who is going to run the show and we know that Senator Joyce wants to run the show and that the Leader of the Opposition will do anything to maintain his position as Leader of the Opposition. The Liberals dislike the Nationals, the Nationals do not like the Liberals, and the Liberals do not like each other. That is the clear position of the coalition. They are an absolute rabble.

This report is simply about trying to ignore the environmental challenges and the economic challenges. It is the Liberals being led around by the nose by the extremists in the Liberal Party and the National Party, who do not believe there is a problem with climate change. You are an absolutely weak bunch of nonentities over there. You are never going to deal with the big issues for this country, because you allow Senator Joyce and the National Party to lead you about by the nose. You do not have the courage, you do not have the conviction and you do not have the backbone to stand up for your own principles.No wonder we call you Backflip Birmingham, because you have done the biggest backflip ever. You are a disgrace.