James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition welcomes the announcement of the next steps in the AUKUS partnership. Put simply, US is good, UK is good, AUKUS is good and nuclear submarines are good. This is building on the work of the coalition in our last term in government. The acquisition of nuclear powered submarines is a step in the right direction at a time when we face an unprecedented threat from foreign actors who do not have our interests at heart.

But that doesn't seem to be enough for some members of the Labor Party. Last week, Australians turned on their news and witnessed something truly horrifying: we witnessed a former, cranky Labor Prime Minister crawl out of his hole, try to prop himself up on his soapbox and proceed to bite and bore the nation. And I'm not talking about Kevin Rudd, I'm talking about Paul Keating. Do we remember Paul Keating? Paul Keating, the Placido Domingo of Australian politics, was a bit more Paris Hilton: more lip, less relevance. It was Paul Keating who sent hundreds of thousands of Australians broke through the recession that we had to have. It was Paul Keating who went to an election promising 'L-A-W law' tax cuts. This guy had the cheek to get up and give gratuitous advice. Shame on Paul Keating!

The former Prime Minister tried to tell the Australian people that Communist China does not pose a threat to our nation. It was almost like he was still in 1990—maybe 1986. His comments were so ridiculous and so out of touch, you almost feel sorry for him. But I don't, because I remember what he did to this country. I remember the people he sent broke through that recession we had to have. Paul Keating, get back in your box and close the lid!