Senate debates

Thursday, 30 November 2023

Statements by Senators

Labor Government

1:56 pm

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

Over the last few days we have seen not only that the Prime Minister is not fit for office but that other Labor members are not fit for power. We have seen the lowest of low of Australian politics. Members of the cabinet have called the Leader of the Opposition a protector of paedophiles. Welcome to politics in Australia in the 21st century, where the dirty, dirty Labor Party defile the Leader of the Opposition, a man who has spent his career protecting Australians. As a police officer in Queensland, this man worked in the sex offenders squad; he worked to lock up sex offenders. He worked for the National Crime Authority. This man lives by the principles of protecting those who cannot protect themselves, yet we have a Labor Prime Minister who allows his attack dogs in the cabinet to go out and say that the Leader of the Opposition is a protector of paedophiles. How outrageous, how disgusting and how despicable and how low is that.

This Labor Party has no policies and has no principles. All it has is a bucket of dirt that it is throwing at the opposition. This is what has happened to politics in Australia. Since the Voice failed, on 14 October, the Labor Party has had no positive plans. They have no vision for Australia, except to throw dirt at the opposition, except to fail to understand how this country should be governed. They are not fit to sit around the cabinet table. The Prime Minister should apologise to the Leader of the Opposition, and the Prime Minister should apologise to every victim who has been abused by a sex offender in this country, because how dare you bring politics into those who have been hurt— (Time expired)