Page 4909 - Week 13 - Thursday, 2 November 2017
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budget reply speech, rather than talk about the budget, he talked about probity. In that speech he named seven issues that the Canberra Liberals were aware of.
I have paid attention to what Mr Coe has said today. It is good to hear that he has remembered the seventh issue, even if in his press release he could not. The term “corrupt capital” has been thrown around by those opposite. One of my favourite things in this place is to monitor the social media accounts of everyone. There are some star social media performers and there are some who are lacking. I saw the #corruptcapital hashtag attempted by the Canberra Liberals. If Liberal HQ is looking for some guidance on social media then I just suggest they consider consulting Mr Parton and Parton Me, procuring some of his social media services. Mark seems quite good at getting traction with some of his selfie videos, so I suggest they look into that for future social media attempts. I know—
Opposition members interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Can the members resume their seats, please. Again, someone is on the floor trying to make their point. This is a serious debate, so let us just hear the arguments for and against.
MR PETTERSSON: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I was struggling to hear my own thoughts over some of the interruptions from opposite, so I appreciate that. It was a long time ago that the Canberra Liberals were last in government. When they were, they oversaw a shambolic regime in which breaches of the Financial Management Act had become standard practice. Overnight loans, tax breaks and public money going to their mates were standard practice. They were all standard practice under the last Liberal government. Yes, it has been a while since that last took place. There are brownie points in it if someone can figure out how old they were when they were last in government. But their behaviour as an opposition suggests that not much has changed.
As we all know, the Liberal Party’s policy platform is open to the highest bidder. Their positions on poker machines, compulsory third-party insurance and planning laws are presumably all auctioned off at Liberal Party fundraisers. I think it is fair to say that the Canberra Liberals have learned very little from their time in the wilderness, but it does make for a good laugh when they try to uphold themselves as beacons of virtue.
This Labor government, on the other hand, has progressed a range of measures directly aimed at improving transparency and accountability, as we have heard from the previous speakers. We have refused to accept donations from property developers. That is a step—
Opposition members interjecting—
MR PETTERSSON: No. That is a step that the Canberra Liberals will not take. It is very interesting that the Canberra Liberals will not take that same step. I understand why. It is because your mates up the highway—
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