Sit down and Shut up

The Leader of the House of Representatives, Anthony Albanese has today confirmed the Government hates questions about difficult topics such as the Member for Dobell and the carbon tax, said Christopher Pyne, the Manager of Opposition Business.

“In an extraordinary spray in Labor caucus, Mr Albanese is reported to have complained that Coalition question time tactics really get under his skin,” Mr Pyne said.

“By complaining about the many questions asked on the Member for Dobell, the carbon tax, and the Australia Day riot, Mr Albanese has inadvertently also highlighted the number of questions this Government has refused to answer,” he said.

“This problem is so chronic that the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and other senior Ministers have been forced to stop speaking and sit down on at least twelve occasions for completely failing to answer questions. This occurred three times today alone,” Mr Pyne said.

The list of those sat down includes the Prime Minister Julia Gillard on four occasions, Treasurer Wayne Swan on three occasions, the Minister for Small Business Brendan O’Connor on two occasions, the Minister for Climate Change Greg Combet, the Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury and Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Bill Shorten.

“This is clear evidence that the Government has deliberately ignored the legitimate questions the Australian people want answered - an affront to the parliamentary process and the Westminster tradition,” Mr Pyne said.

“To top it all off, the holder of the second highest federal political office in Australia, the Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister was ejected from the House of Representatives today for the first time in living memory,” he said.

“If Mr Albanese wants to have a little sulk about question time then perhaps he should look closer to home,” Mr Pyne said.

March 20, 2012