Motions – Prime Minister – Thursday, 6 February 2020

Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Leader of the Opposition) (15:04): I seek leave to move the following motion:

That the House:

(1) notes the Prime Minister:

   (a) is incapable of expressing regret and admitting when he is wrong;

   (b ) blames others and attempts to cover up his failings with false or misleading claims, including but in no way limited to the Prime Minister’s:

      (i) claim the response to the national bushfire crisis was a matter for the states and territories;

      (ii) claim volunteer firefighters didn’t need compensation because they wanted to be there;

      (iii) statement that he didn’t hold a hose when Australians were looking to him for national leadership in an unprecedented bushfire crisis; and

      (iv) claim he had a conversation with a bushfire survivor who had lost everything when he instead forced her to shake his hand only to turn his back when she asked for help; and

   (c) can’t learn from his mistakes if he never admits them; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to put the national interest ahead of his political interest.

Leave not granted.

Mr ALBANESE: I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition from moving the following motion immediately—That the House:

(1) notes the Prime Minister:

   (a) is incapable of expressing regret and admitting when he is wrong;

   (b )blames others and attempts to cover up his failings with false or misleading claims, including but in no way limited to the Prime Minister’s:

      (i) claim the response to the national bushfire crisis was a matter for the states and territories;

      (ii) claim volunteer firefighters didn’t need compensation because they wanted to be there;

      (iii) statement that he didn’t hold a hose when Australians were looking to him for national leadership in an unprecedented bushfire crisis; and

      (iv) claim he had a conversation with a bushfire survivor who had lost everything when he instead forced her to shake his hand only to turn his back when she asked for help; and

   (c) can’t learn from his mistakes if he never admits them; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to put the national interest ahead of his political interest.

The fact is that this government has just been—

The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The Leader of the House has the call.

Mr PORTER (Pearce—Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Leader of the House) (15:07): I move:

That the Member be no longer heard.

The SPEAKER: The question is that the Leader of the Opposition be no further heard.

The House divided. [15:11]

(The Speaker—Hon. Tony Smith)

DIVISION:AYES 75 (5 majority) NOES 70 PAIRS 0
AYES	NOES	PAIRS
Alexander, JG Allen, K Andrews, KJ Andrews, KL Archer, BK Bell, AM Broadbent, RE Buchholz, S Chester, D Christensen, GR Conaghan, PJ Connelly, V Coulton, M Drum, DK (teller) Dutton, PC Entsch, WG Evans, TM Falinski, JG Fletcher, PW Flint, NJ Frydenberg, JA Gee, AR Gillespie, DA Goodenough, IR Hammond, CM Hastie, AW Hawke, AG Hogan, KJ Howarth, LR Hunt, GA Irons, SJ Joyce, BT Kelly, C Laming, A Landry, ML Leeser, J Ley, SP Littleproud, D Liu, G Marino, NB Martin, FB McCormack, MF McIntosh, MI McVeigh, JJ Morrison, SJ Morton, B O’Brien, LS O’Brien, T O’Dowd, KD Pasin, A Pearce, GB Pitt, KJ Porter, CC Price, ML Ramsey, RE (teller) Robert, SR Sharma, DN Simmonds, J Stevens, J Sukkar, MS Taylor, AJ Tehan, DT Thompson, P Tudge, AE van Manen, AJ Vasta, RX Wallace, AB Webster, AE Wicks, LE Wilson, RJ Wilson, TR Wood, JP Wyatt, KG Young, T Zimmerman, T	Albanese, AN Aly, A Bandt, AP Bird, SL Bowen, CE Burke, AS Burney, LJ Burns, J Butler, MC Butler, TM Byrne, AM Chalmers, JE Champion, ND Clare, JD Claydon, SC Coker, EA Collins, JM Conroy, PM Dick, MD Dreyfus, MA Elliot, MJ Fitzgibbon, JA Freelander, MR Georganas, S Giles, AJ Gorman, P Gosling, LJ Haines, H Hayes, CP Hill, JC Husic, EN Jones, SP Kearney, G Kelly, MJ Keogh, MJ Khalil, P King, CF King, MMH Leigh, AK Marles, RD McBride, EM Mitchell, BK Mitchell, RG Mulino, D Murphy, PJ Neumann, SK O’Connor, BPJ O’Neil, CE Owens, JA Payne, AE Phillips, FE Plibersek, TJ Rishworth, AL Rowland, MA Ryan, JC (teller) Sharkie, RCC Shorten, WR Smith, DPB Snowdon, WE Stanley, AM (teller) Steggall, Z Swanson, MJ Templeman, SR Thistlethwaite, MJ Vamvakinou, M Watts, TG Wells, AS Wilkie, AD Wilson, JH Zappia, A

Question agreed to.