Page 2437 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 13 August 2014
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So in light of both the work that has been done and the fact that Mr Hanson’s motion does not reflect an up-to-date analysis of the situation, I will not be supporting it today and will be voting against it.
I was very struck in yesterday’s debate when Mr Hanson referenced the death star. He decided to self-describe himself as Han Solo. That struck me as an intriguing thing to do. I mean, who does that? Who walks into this place and says, “I am Han Solo”? That aside, it prompted me to go off and think more deeply about it and look up Han Solo’s background. Of course there is a Star Wars Wikipedia—one imagines there probably is. One might not be surprised to know it is actually known as Wookiepedia, of course, which figures.
Presumably the reason Mr Hanson decided to self-describe himself in this way was that Han Solo helped Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia escape the death star. Presumably that was the linkage that Mr Hanson had in mind. I wondered whether it was because of Han Solo being someone that walked with a swagger and was smart-talking. That certainly struck me as a likeness. But when one actually researches it, it turns out that Han Solo was a smuggler—perhaps the best smuggler in the galaxy. He was on the run from imperial forces, seemingly undertaking a bit of civil disobedience, heaven forbid.
Members interjecting—
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Members.
Mr Hanson: You have joined the empire. Shame on you.
MR RATTENBURY: Yes. So I was amused that Mr Hanson likened himself to someone undertaking large-scale disobedience in fact for profit. That is the Liberal Party version of civil disobedience: for profit.
Two other interesting facts about Han Solo are that his son Jason turned to the dark side of the force, something Mr Coe might wish to reflect on, and that George Lucas had to actually alter the film. Star Wars was actually remade in the 90s, because there was a controversial scene in which Han Solo actually drew first and shot one of his alternating characters in what is considered to be a rather un-hero-like moment in the earlier version of the films. So there was a necessity to rewrite the film, to rewrite history, which of course is one of Mr Hanson’s other great strengths.
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr Rattenbury. I am sure we are all much more educated now, not that I thought it had much to do with the motion.
MR HANSON (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (11.28), in reply: There is a proud history of the Greens confusing movies with reality. I think it was Sarah Hanson-Young who watched Happy Feet and thought that the ice melting was real. And then she watched Sea Patrol and thought that was real, too. Maybe Mr Rattenbury thinks that is the case as well. I must say that that was a humorous contribution from Mr Rattenbury and I welcome it. I can only assume he sees himself as an ewok—he is not quite aligned at this stage and just grubbing around in the forest.
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