George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, the first time I'd even heard of Mr Barilaro was on Friday morning, when he burst forth into lurid light, courtesy of the Alan Jones radio program. Now, Mr Barilaro did offer some interesting observations, but I'm more interested, Senator McAllister, in the observations that were made the following day in National Party heartland in New England, when the people of New England re-elected the once and future Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Barnaby Joyce—who, I suspect, has heard of Mr Barilaro—with the biggest swing to the government in any by-election in Australian history. So, Senator McAllister, if I may say so with respect, if you're going to ask one of these cute, tricky, political questions, you might at least direct your mind to the more recent election—not the Queensland election and not the dribblings of some obscure politician, who nobody outside of New South Wales has ever heard of—but the most recent and most emphatic statement of electoral opinion which we saw the day before yesterday. It was not from the Queensland election, which was the previous week, and not from Mr Barilaro, who nobody has ever heard of, if they don't live in New South Wales, but from the people of New England who re-elected Barnaby Joyce, with, as I say, the biggest swing to a government candidate at a by-election in Australian history. If you want to see a scene of domestic bliss, just have a look at Mr Joyce and Mr Turnbull standing side by side in Tamworth last Saturday night—that is the spirit of this government.