Doorstop - Parliament House

SUBJECTS: Carbon Tax; Speakership; 44th Parliament; Standing Orders; Resignation of Kevin Rudd.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Yesterday was the first day of the new 44th Parliament. The Government introduced its Carbon Tax repeal legislation, its legislation to repeal the Mining and Resources Rent Tax, the bill to increase the debt limit ceiling, which was passed through the House of Representatives yesterday. We amended the standing orders; we did all of this in the teeth of fierce opposition from the Labor Party. The most remarkable thing about yesterday is that the Labor Party spent all morning trying to delay the introduction of the repeal of the Carbon Tax. So ‘Electricity Bill’ Shorten is putting his money where his mouth is and trying to ensure that the Carbon Tax stays, that people’s electricity bills stay high. This is stark contrast to the Greens who while they have a principled position, from their own point of view that they will oppose any changes to the Carbon Tax, they are at least understanding the Government has a mandate to put that legislation in the House of Representatives and the Senate and have indicated they would vote on it before Christmas . So Christine Milne is showing more character, more political integrity, than Bill Shorten. Bill Shorten is still playing games, still ignoring the public’s wishes, that the Carbon Tax would be abolished. Where at least Christine Milne is showing the intestinal fortitude to have the fight in the Senate, and to have a vote on it before Christmas so that that Government can get on with its program.

QUESTION:

Do you think that the new Speaker erred in her ruling in allowing name calling?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

The Speaker can make all the decisions that she likes. It is not up to me to second guess the Speaker. I think that Bronwyn Bishop has got off to a terrific start. I think that it is very bad for the Labor Party to be reflecting on the Speaker, particularly outside the Chamber where it is hard for her to act against them. The truth is, Bronwyn Bishop will be one of the great Speakers of the Parliament of Australia. She demonstrated that yesterday, she has a grasp of the Parliament and has all of the gravitas of the Speaker that you would hope the Speaker would have, in stark contrast to the way the Labor Party behaved yesterday.

QUESTION:

(inaudible)

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

The Labor Party were playing games yesterday and engaging themselves in stunts. Tony Burke was trying to show that he was in charge of the Labor Party’s tactics. Anthony Albanese was like a Jack in the Box at the Dispatch Box, constantly up trying to show he was still ruling from the grave. I pity Tony Burke, he is being stalked not only by the Left but by Anthony Albanese. And Anthony Albanese is clearly a better parliamentary performer than Tony Burke and wants the job back.

QUESTION:

Why have you changed the standing orders so that only Ministers can suspend standing orders?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

Well I haven’t.

QUESTION:

Do you plan to?

QUESTION:

I have put on the Notice Paper the exact same motion that Anthony Albanese put on the Motion Paper in the last Parliament and that Tony Abbott when he was Leader of the House put on the Notice Paper when he was Leader of the House in the Howard Government. It is a standard motion to have on the Notice Paper.

QUESTION:

But why remove that when the Coalition used it ad nauseam..

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

We haven’t.

QUESTION:

…in the last Parliament?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

We haven’t removed it.

QUESTION:

You haven’t removed it yet but why consider its removal?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

We haven’t removed it.

QUESTION:

But why are you considering it?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

We haven’t considered it. We have put it on the Notice Paper as all Leaders of the House should sensibly do.

QUESTION:

Why have you put it on the Notice Paper?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

Of course I have. It is on the Notice paper.

QUESTION:

But why have you?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

What have I?

QUESTION:

Why have you?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

Because all Leaders of the House, whether it is Tony Abbott or Anthony Albanese or now Christopher Pyne put on the Notice Paper a motion to tell the Opposition that if they misuse Suspensions Of Standing Orders like they did yesterday the power is there that the Government can take it away, it is a very sensible move. Yesterday, the Vice-President of Indonesia was kept waiting at a critical time in our relationship with Indonesia, in fact with all our neighbours, so that the Labor Party could play foolish games and so that Tony Bourke could try and pretend that he was running the Labor show and Anthony Albanese could have an arm wrestle with him over that. I don’t think that was a good use of parliamentary time and I think that it was embarrassing for Australia for the Labor Party to treat the Indonesian Vice-President that badly and they knew that he was there waiting because we told them.

QUESTION:

Is it not critical though to repeal the suspensions of standing orders from the last Parliament… (inaudible)

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

I think it would be more interesting to see the hypocrisy that we hear from the Labor Party today about how much they all loved Kevin Rudd. I can’t wait to hear what Steve Conroy and Kate Ellis and Nicola Roxon and other Members of the Labor Party who have excoriated Kevin Rudd and chased him down like the weak wildebeest in a pack and tore him a part, what they have to say about Kevin Rudd. And can I say that at least Wayne Swan had the decency when he was asked what he would say about Kevin Rudd’s resignation to not comment.

QUESTION:

Just on the standing orders, going back to that question, I mean the former Prime Minister Gillard was kept waiting many times due to suspensions in the House, so how is, how is it right for the Coalition to have that threat over the, considering using that…

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

Can you give me any examples of where she was kept waiting and couldn’t go and see the Indonesian Vice-President or similarly high level people?

QUESTION:

I can’t recall specifically.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

I can’t recall either, that’s why I’m asking you.

QUESTION:

But there are plenty of examples where she was prevented from getting away from the House when she had other meetings to go to.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

Well getting away from the House to sign letters or to meet staff is quite different to be being delayed from meeting the Vice-President of Indonesia. Any other questions?

QUESTION:

What are your thoughts on Kevin Rudd’s resignation on Parliament? How will you remember him? Anything you would like to say about him?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

Well I wish him well, and his family well. And I was on the record last night in the Parliament and I think that Kevin Rudd’s resignation is a matter for the Opposition. Everyone should be able to choose their time of their leaving and he has chosen yesterday to do so. And I wish him well.

QUESTION:

(inaudible)

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

I always hope for a Liberal Government to be in power, so I wish the Howard Government would be re-elected in 2007.

QUESTION:

Is the Coalition’s debt ceiling legislation trouble … in the Senate?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

No, I don’t think so. I think you will see it will pass and sense will prevail.

QUESTION:

In time? Will it pass it in time?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

Well if Labor wants to create a further budget emergency they are really rubbing salt into the wound of that they created. I don’t think the Australian public will thank them for it. What the Australian public want the Government to do is to get on with governing in a calm, methodical and sensible way and if Labor wants to play silly games as they did yesterday, I think that they will earn the wroth of the Australian public and remain in Opposition for a long time. But you have to remember with the Labor Party, they much prefer political games than to be in Government. So they are much happier where they are now in Opposition and they can play games for as long as they like there but as long as they don’t get in the way of the Government’s program, that doesn’t worry us but if they do then I think that the public would get very angry with them.

QUESTION:

Do you still stand by the last Parliament… (inaudible)

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

Well I never felt that I was disrupting proceedings.

QUESTION:

Is it about, do you still stand by the … (inaudible)

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

Well I don’t believe that we ever disrupted proceedings. What we did was hold the Government to account and the proof of the pudding was in the eating because we won the election. Thank you.

QUESTION:

So why is the Government disputing the proceedings ,what is the difference?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

We are the Government, they are the Labor Party, the Labor Party is the Opposition.

QUESTION:

Why is the Opposition disrupting things, this time round?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

They kept the Indonesian Vice-President waiting for a long period of time which I think was extremely rude.

QUESTION:

That was just the one thing though, but obviously it’s an important thing, but in the future … they are not going to disrupt Indonesian Vice-President each time are they?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

Well, who knows! They might not do it again ,but they might do it again, it’s up to them, I don’t run the Labor Party’s tactics.

QUESTION:

Did you seriously say that you didn’t disrupt proceedings in the last Parliament? You did over seventy times in the halls of the last Parliament? How is that not a disruption?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

I think that debating is not a disruption. I think that debating is an important part of the parliamentary process.

QUESTION:

But you won’t allow Labor to have use of the standing orders to …

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

What the Labor Party does is a matter for them. I’m not second guessing their tactics.

QUESTION:

You’ll allow, you won’t you know use this to… raise points of order?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

You mean suspensions of standing orders?

QUESTION:

Yes.

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

We are getting on with the job of governing the nation. We are introducing the Carbon Tax repeal legislation, the Mining Resources Rent Tax repeal, raising the debt ceiling. We will be introducing a whole raft of legislation today. We are getting on with the job of governing in the best interests of the Australian people. That’s why they elected us two months ago. If Labor want to play silly games in the Parliament, I think the Australian public will mark them down severely.

QUESTION:

Just in terms of the name calling, do you thin therefore it is appropriate for people to refer to the Prime Minister as Typhoon Tony?

CHRISTOPHER PYNE:

I’m not going to comment on things like that, it’s a bit trivial. Okay, thank you very much.

Ends