Senate debates

Wednesday, 22 August 2018

Documents

Great Barrier Reef; Order for the Production of Documents

3:18 pm

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

What a rambling, pathetic, nonsensical speech—not a speech, a shouting match from Senator Carr. Perhaps the worst minister that even the Labor Party has produced, he presided over the failure of the car industry in Australia and he did nothing, absolutely nothing, for marine science during the time he was in charge of it. And, more or less, with all his political comments, this is the guy who—I understand—the Labor Party didn't want to endorse. The guy who Mr Shorten removed from his front bench, and he only put him back when there was a bit of a revolt amongst Senator Carr's three or four supporters. This is the guy that couldn't even turn up to the preselection of the former Deputy President—the guy who supported Senator Carr, but Senator Carr couldn't even respond and help his mate out at the time of his preselection.

Those who listened to that rambling tirade—that shouting match, that irrelevant speech—mightn't have bothered, because Senator Carr has little credibility in this place and within his own party. I enter this debate only because of some of the outrageous smears that Senator Carr indulged himself in—which should have been addressed by the chair, I might say. The comment that Senator Cash is facing criminal charges is just an outright lie. As has been said in this chamber so many times, Senator Cash is not under investigation. If there is anyone under investigation, it could be a former member of Senator Cash's staff. Whilst the Labor Party rail on about that, we forget what that raid was all about. It was all about Mr Bill Shorten, as the leader of the AWU some years ago, wrongly appropriating some funds to his own benefit. The police investigation is not about Senator Cash but about misconduct by Mr Bill Shorten before he entered this parliament—or perhaps as he was entering this parliament, because he is alleged to have misappropriated money to himself from other sources for his election campaign.

Madam Deputy President, you and members of the Labor Party may not like these comments—which, as you know, are accurate—but when Senator Carr gets up and makes the outlandish, untrue, lying accusations he did then they have to be responded to. I know the Labor Party are fixated with police investigations, because Senator Keneally is in this place now, and two of the ministers from her government are now serving jail terms for real criminal offences. Senator Keneally put these ministers into her cabinet when she was the Premier of New South Wales. These two men were great friends with Senator Doug Cameron. I don't like raising these matters, but when the Labor Party is continually carrying on in a lying way about Senator Cash and others then I have to respond in kind. To paraphrase what that former great Labor leader Mark Latham once said about Graham Richardson, 'If Senator Cameron wanted to go and meet his mates for a reunion party, he'd have to do it in jail,' because that's where the guys who protected Senator Cameron, and whom he subsequently protected, are now.

I could spend an hour speaking in this chamber about Labor members of parliament who are now in jail. Remember that Orkopoulos fellow, a minister from New South Wales who ended up in jail on paedophilia charges? Remember Gordon Nuttall from my state of Queensland, a minister in a Labor government, who ended up in jail for accepting bribes—proved and convicted in court? I don't like raising these things, but when the likes of Senator Cameron and Senator Carr continually raise lying comments about Senator Cash and others then they can expect this sort of response from me. I could go on with any number of Labor Party people. Remember Keith Wright, the leader of the Labor Party in Queensland, then a member down here, in jail for indecent dealings with children? Remember Bill D'Arcy, a member of the Queensland Labor government, in jail for similar offences? If you go through the annals of New South Wales Labor politicians, you'll find many of them in jail. You know why my namesake—

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