Mr PYNE (Sturt—Leader of the House and Minister for Education) (15:24): We on this side of the House do not agree with the motion, and the opposition's attempt to suspend standing orders should not be carried. I will say why in the next 10 minutes. We will not be judged by the party of Craig Thomson, and the party of Michael Williamson, and the party of the AWU slush fund, and the party of Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald. We will not be judged by the Labor Party on the issue of standards in government. I have waited all week for the opportunity that I hoped the opposition would give me, to outline why we will never be lectured by the Labor Party about ministerial standards. I say to the House, how dare the Labor Party come into this chamber and try and wear the clothes of ministerial accountability and standards, after the sewer they presided over for three years in the 43rd Parliament, putting aside the 42nd Parliament. But in the 43rd Parliament— Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER: The member for Charlton! Mr PYNE: there was an endless list of atrocities committed against this parliament. Not only did they suborn the former member for Fisher into becoming the Speaker, and replacing a good man in Harry Jenkins, to gain a vote— Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER: The member for Gorton will desist! Mr PYNE: but they kept Craig Thomson's vote in their party room until 29 April 2012. Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER: The member for Perth has already been warned! That is the last time. Mr PYNE: Labor clung to the vote of the former member for Dobell, the now disgraced Craig Thomson. Now, when did they find out? When did we all find out there was a cloud hanging over the member for Dobell? Well, it certainly was not on 28 April 2012. It certainly was not the day before Labor excluded him from their caucus. In January 2009, even before the 2010 election, Terry Nassios from the Fair Work Commission commenced his inquiry into the HSU's Victorian No. 1 Branch. In January 2009, the Fair Work Commission began its inquiry into the Health Services Union No. 1 Branch, and the stories started appearing in the newspapers about former member for Dobell Craig Thomson. In fact, we know that in early 2009 Ben Hubbard, the former chief of staff to then Prime Minister Gillard, rang the then Industrial Registrar Doug Williams to inquire into whether they were investigating a Labor MP. So we know that in early 2009 the Prime Minister's office and the Labor Party were aware enough, and concerned enough, that the chief of staff of the Prime Minister contacted— The SPEAKER: The member for Hunter will take his seat! Mr PYNE: the then Industrial Registrar Doug Williams to discover— The SPEAKER: The member for Hunter will take his seat or leave! Mr PYNE: if there was an inquiry into the former member for Dobell going on. It goes on and on. There were so many stories. The New South Wales police launched Strike Force Carnarvon in September 2011. The Victorian police fraud squad confirmed in October 2011 that they were investigating Craig Thomson. Fair Work Australia published their investigation into the HSU in April 2012, and in March 2012 they released their investigation into the Victorian HSU No. 1 Branch. For all that time the Labor Party protected former member for Dobell Craig Thomson and kept his vote in their caucus. The SPEAKER: The member for Perth will leave under standing order 94(a). The member for Perth then left the chamber. Mr PYNE: Yet they come in here and try to lecture the coalition about ministerial standards. Craig Thomson is just one example. This is the party of Eddie Obeid. This is the party of Joe Tripodi. This is the Party of Ian Macdonald—and federal ministers were named in the Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation into the Obeid family's financial matters. Two of them appeared as witnesses. Opposition members interjecting— The SPEAKER: The member for McEwen is warned! Mr PYNE: Greg Combet appeared as a witness to ICAC. Did we demand that he resign from the front bench? No, we did not demand that he resign. Senator Doug Cameron, now sitting on the Labor Party front bench, appeared as a witness at the ICAC investigation into the Obeid family fortune. Did we demand that Doug Cameron be disciplined and be stripped of his responsibilities? No we did not, because there is an enormous difference between appearing as a witness in an investigation and being investigated by the ICAC. The member for Chifley knows that very well; the member for Kingsford Smith knows it very well. For all the confected outrage in the world that Labor are trying to raise this week, they cannot get away from one fact: they are the party of sleaze and smear in New South Wales, in particular, and Sussex Street has got its reputation. We will not be lectured by Labor about standards in this place. I would also say that the big difference between this side of House and the other side of House is that, when a matter like this occurs, we act. When something was raised, as it was against the former Assistant Treasurer, the former Assistant Treasurer acted. He did the right thing. He stood aside yesterday so that he would not be a distraction from the government's important economic and social agenda. So the Labor Party have spent all week in question time, wasting question time and criticising us for doing the right thing. When Labor were in power, what did they use to do when these things happened? They circled the wagons, they aggressively attacked the opposition and they used all sorts of personal calumnies against members of the opposition, including me and including you, Madam Speaker, when you were in opposition, and including the now Prime Minister, the member for Warringah. That was their response. The response on our side of the House was for a decent man, a man of honour and reputation, Senator Arthur Sinodinos to stand aside until this matter is resolved. Mr Husic interjecting— The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Chifley will either desist or leave. Mr PYNE: So, in fact, Labor have spent the week criticising the government for doing the right thing, demanding every day that the Prime Minister respond to question after question—repetitive questions—because they want to criticise us for doing the right thing. If, on the other hand, we had behaved like Labor behaved in government then maybe they would have had a feather to fly with—a leg to stand on. But, no, this is all just the confected outrage of an opposition without a strategy and without a narrative that lives tactically from day to day and that is being marked down by the public because of this exact strategy. That is why the Griffith by-election was the best result for a government since 1984. Mr Conroy: How about South Australia? How did South Australia go? Mr PYNE: In South Australia, we got 53 per cent of the vote for the coalition. The SPEAKER: The member for Charlton will leave under standing order 94(a). The member for Charlton then left the chamber. Mr PYNE: In Tasmania, we swept aside 16 years of Labor-Greens government, because the public knows that this side of House is operating in an adult, calm and methodical way, introducing the policies that we promised to take to the election and introducing the governmental changes that we know will create jobs, build growth and restore the reputation of Australia internationally and domestically. We are getting on with the job. What Labor are doing is spending a week wasting their questions, wasting question time and building to their suspension of standing orders on Thursday afternoon. I say to the new members of the Labor Party, particularly: you should speak to the strategy team about their strategy, because you are not winning it. You spent all week criticising the government for doing the right thing, and this was a complete waste of a question time. There are so many precedents for the action of Senator Sinodinos. Mick Young in 1984— An opposition member: Thanks for your help! Mr PYNE: Someone needs to help you! Mick Young, your predecessor, in 1984 stood down from the Hawke ministry; he was reinstated about a month or so later. Phillip Lynch stood down as the Treasurer in the Fraser government; he was reinstated to the ministry a little while later. Ian Sinclair stood down from the Fraser government; he was reinstated to the ministry after he was cleared of any wrongdoing. Even the member for Lilley, when he was a shadow minister, stood down from the role that he held in family and community services under the former Leader of the Opposition, Kim Beazley, until he was cleared of any wrongdoing in any matters and returned to the front bench. These are the precedents—Mick Young, Phillip Lynch, Ian Sinclair and Wayne Swan. These are the precedents. The action that was taken by Senator Arthur Sinodinos yesterday by standing aside from his position— Mr Dutton interjecting— Mr Mitchell: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: the Minister for Health has used words against the member for Lilley which are offensive, and I request that you ask him to withdraw them unreservedly. The SPEAKER: If there is something that needs withdrawing, it would assist the House for the Minister for Health to do so. Mr DUTTON: I withdraw. The SPEAKER: Order! The time for the debate has expired. The question is that the motion be agreed to.