Senator O'NEILL (New South Wales) (15:14): I rise to take note of answers given by Senator Abetz and Senator Cormann today in particular. Senators must have forgotten over the Christmas break what the purpose of question time is, because the answers given today bear little resemblance to the questions asked. It also seems that the entire Parliamentary Liberal Party has forgotten the purpose of government. They are now completely consumed not with matters that are important to the people of Australia but, rather, matters of personality in their own party and who could win a high-school popularity contest—the cool kid in his leather jacket, the member for Wentworth, or the athlete, the Prime Minister. Today, the Australian people have been done a great disservice by the Liberal Party, who are unrepentant. In his answers today, Senator Abetz seemed unfazed by the fact that his Prime Minister bound his cabinet to support him at today's Libspill, taking away from the party room their usually robust free vote that we hear about so often. But even forcing his cabinet colleagues' support was not enough to make Tony Abbott's leadership secure. Senator Abetz: That's Mr Abbott to you. Senator O'NEILL: Forty per cent of his party room have deserted his chaotic leadership. The obeisance from that comment that we just had from Senator Abetz demanding that I call the Prime Minister Mr Abbott and not dare to speak his name reminds me of those— The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: It is the correct form of address. I ask you to do so please. Senator O'NEILL: The Prime Minister. Two-thirds of his backbench know that they do not keep their seats with Tony Abbott at the helm, making his captain's picks and guiding them from disaster to disaster. Bullying and intimidation were not enough to keep the backbench members in line. There has been a breakout of people who are sick to the teeth of the Prime Minister's constant promises of improving his behaviour and being more consultative. They have learned their lesson: they simply have to ignore what he says, because his actions have spoken very loudly. He ignores his own backbench in the way he ignores the Australian people. Senator Abetz refused to comment when questioned about the cruel and unfair tactics that were being used to get members of parliament to back the faltering horse. But who can blame the Liberal backbenchers? They hear one story from their colleagues and they hear a different story from the media. Now they even have the Prime Minister on the phone at the eleventh hour, making conflicting promises to different members and senators to secure his leadership. Is the GP tax gone? The Member for Cowan thinks it is. I wonder where he got that impression. Senator Cormann says it is here to stay. Will our submarines be built in Australia? Senator Edwards thinks so, and he thought so so powerfully that he went out in public yesterday and again this morning, claiming that he had a deal with the Prime Minister to deliver those submarines for South Australia, to have an open tender. But today we have heard all the weasel words again. Tony Abbott obviously still wants them to be built in Japan. Will the Prime Minister listen to Australians on higher education? Tony Abbott says he will be more consultative. Australians just do not trust him to listen to his backbench, do not trust him to listen to the experts and do not trust him to listen to the community. The Liberal Party promised to be a grown up, adult government that 'thinks before it acts', but the only thing they are thinking of is themselves. The Liberal Party promised to be a no-surprises, no-excuses government, but all we have seen is excuse after excuse from this dysfunctional, untrustworthy Prime Minister and his government. But after all this the Prime Minister has promised that good government would begin today. Senator Conroy: What were you doing for the past 16 months? Senator O'NEILL: How could good government begin today? Was this the day that he foreshadowed and heralded to himself as the day that he would begin good government? It is more than 520 days since the Prime Minister took the leadership of this country—520 days of what I would say is clearly bad government. I absolutely agree with Senator Conroy there. If you are going to start good government today, that is all we can assume has been the case. That is why the fortunes of this Liberal Party-Nationals coalition are at such a low point: they lied to the Australian people to get into government. They came through and revealed their colours in all their darkness, despair and misery in the budget, and Australians are awake to you. They are on to you, and it only a short time before the Prime Minister loses his position. (Time expired)