Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

What a disgusting and sad presentation by someone who claims, unfortunately, to be a senator for my state of Queensland. It is no wonder the people of a Brisbane electorate got rid of Senator Watt when he represented them in the state parliament. They clearly understood that their representative was worthless and even worse than that. Not only was that speech the sort of speech that brings the political system into disrepute, but certainly Senator Watt, as a newcomer, is adding to the disdain with which most Australians hold their politicians.

Madam Deputy President, you only have to listen to that speech to understand why the Australian public holds politicians like Senator Watt in such low esteem. He is a hack from the Labor Party. He was a union bully. He worked for the disgraced Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh. He then went into parliament, as happens with union bullies and Labor Party hacks. He went into the state parliament, but could not even hold his seat in a very safe Labor seat. He was thrown out.

Then, to add insult to injury, do you know, Madam Deputy President, what he did? He got the faction to do over Senator Jan McLucas. Senator McLucas and I had our disagreements on policy issues, but she was a serious, sincere and honest senator. She would come into this chamber and she would make points. What I particularly liked about her, of course, was that she was from northern Australia. But Senator Watt got his union thugs to do her over. She missed out on the preselection and was replaced by Senator Watt. Not only did he not come North Queensland—he came from Brisbane—but he has recently announced with great gusto that he is moving out of Brisbane and going further south down to the Gold Coast. Would you believe it? On the weekend I fortunately happened to be talking to someone in Brisbane and they told me he has his office down in the Gold Coast pretending he is there, but he has made it clear he is not going to move from his house in the leafy suburbs of Brisbane.

I would not justify this debate by going through the long list of Labor politicians and supporters who were appointed to AAT positions. Some had qualifications, most did not. I might say—without naming her, Senator Watt—that there was a Labor senator sitting exactly where you are sitting now—