Pyne, Christopher, MP

Mr PYNE (Sturt—Manager of Opposition Business) (09:07): I am pleased to be able to talk on this motion about arrangements for the arrival of President Obama in mid November. I do so remembering the strange parallels that exist in the current political climate with the climate in other times that American presidents have visited this country. Specifically, I remind members of the visit of George Bush Sr in Christmas 1991. He left the United States when Bob Hawke was the Prime Minister and arrived when Paul Keating was the Prime Minister. I wonder whether there will be similar parallels at this time—I wonder if President Obama will leave the United States to visit Julia Gillard as Prime Minister and arrive to find that Stephen Smith or Kevin Rudd is actually occupying that chair. It is an amusing and interesting analogy and a parallel that I think bears some witness to the divided and directionless government that we have in Australia today. Ms Macklin: Is there anything you can take seriously? Mr PYNE: There have been other important visits to Australia by United States presidents. Famously, Lyndon Johnson visited when he was President of the United States. George Bush visited and spoke to the parliament. Lyndon Johnson did not in fact address the parliament. Bill Clinton visited the parliament when I was a member of parliament, George Bush Jr also visited Australia and spoke to the parliament when I was in this place. Now it will be President Obama. It will be a historic, important and very interesting visit to this country by the president of essentially the free world, the leader of the free world, the president of Australia's most important ally historically for 60 years. It is just remarkable the sanctimony and the piety coming from the Labor Party when we are discussing this motion. They should be embarrassed about what a shambolic rabble their government has become. Rather than taking it in their stride, they are pretending that somehow they have some moral superiority on that side of the House to this side of the House. You should be embarrassed—the government should be embarrassed. Only this week, when the minister for immigration and the shadow minister for immigration had agreed not to play politics about the tragic drowning of people seeking asylum off Indonesia, the Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O'Connor, was attacking the opposition, that night at the same time. You come into this place right now and try and take some moral superiority— Mr Albanese interjecting— Ms Macklin interjecting— The SPEAKER: I invite the Manager of Opposition Business to return to the motion before the House. Mr PYNE: I am more than happy to, Mr Speaker. I am not going to make the point about the immigration issue again, but I would not have needed to make those points if the Leader of the House and the minister for family services were not allowed to constantly interject on me during my contribution. The SPEAKER: If the Manager of Opposition Business has a problem with the way in which proceedings are being chaired, he has other avenues rather than to reflect upon the chair. Some of your colleagues seem to think that I will take action against you; I will not. But I will remind you that you will come back to the motion and not, to use one of the famous expressions of this House, be a precious petal about interjections. The Manager of Opposition Business will confine his remarks to the motion before the Chair. Mr PYNE: The coalition certainly looks forward to the visit of President Obama to this parliament. The coalition has been historically the great friend of the United States in this country. The coalition was the government that was responsible for drafting and signing the ANZUS treaty in the early 1950s. Australia has no better friend than the United States, and the United States has no better friend than Australia. Every time Australia is called on to support the United States in world affairs, whether they have been unfortunate conflagrations across the world, whether they have been support in the United Nations or other world fora, Australia has been there to support the United States. The United States is the greatest bulwark for freedom and against terror in the world today. While the United States is going through difficult economic times, I am absolutely confident that the United States will come through these difficult economic times stronger and better than ever. A visit of a United States President is an historic visit for Australia. We have other great allies, like Japan and Great Britain, but none that have done more for Australia than the United States. I am pleased that in most cases it is a bipartisan issue in this parliament. Not everybody in the parliament supports the United States as confidently and passionately as the coalition does, but, by and large over the history of this country since the Second World War, there has been a bipartisan approach from the leadership at least—from the prime ministers of both Labor and Liberal parties—to support the United States alliance and to strengthen that relationship. In speaking briefly to this motion, I welcome the arrangements that have been put in place by the Leader of the House and by the government. It will be a tremendous day for Australia, and I look forward to supporting this motion when it comes on for a vote.