Page 1159 - Week 03 - Thursday, 18 March 2010
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been a message from the hill. I responded, “I don’t know.” Why would I know? How would I know? I could not possibly know, but there are people in this building who are trying to foment mischief. They can foment as much mischief as they like with regard to my good name, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I will not stand for it, on the public record, when it besmirches my wife’s good name.
Mrs Dunne is not fit to walk in the shadow of my wife. Her behaviour this evening is despicable. I am calling on her to come down to this chamber now and put an apology on the record to someone who has no opportunity to defend herself. She can go and tell those people who are inciting her to make such venomous and vindictive remarks that they can go back to the cave, from the sewer from which they came.
I do not care whether they are Catholic or not, Madam Deputy Speaker. If she thinks that I think that she has come up with something original, she is wrong there too. Mrs Dunne has never had an original thought in her life. She is a marionette doing somebody else’s bidding because somebody else does not have the courage to do it themselves. Let me say to them: if Mrs Dunne wants to say this outside this chamber—and I challenge her to do it—let her do it with a photo of her house, because I could do with another rental property, Madam Deputy Speaker. The same thing goes to the scumbag that is feeding her with these absolute falsehoods and an abundant bag of lies. Madam Deputy Speaker, I thought I had seen it all.
As for the rumour that I might trade my job to the left, that has got to be the silliest comment of them all. With the exception of your good self, Madam Deputy Speaker, I am the best local member this place has ever seen since 1989. It is, some people would say, the only thing I do well. I have no intention whatever of trading my job for anything. I know there are rumours abounding in this place that I am about to pack it in. Do I sound like somebody ready to pack it in? All I can say now is that, if Mrs Dunne wants to go to war about these sorts of things, bring it on. I say this now: I have respect for Mr Doszpot and I have respect for Mr Coe. We will have our swordfights, sure, but they have respect. I have nothing but contempt for Mrs Dunne across the chamber. (Time expired.)
National sheepdog trials
Motorsport
MR COE (Ginninderra) (4.39): Firstly, I would like to add to the record of what I said on 16 March, a couple of days ago, about the national sheepdog trial championships in Hall. I should have also acknowledged the fine leadership of Peter Welsh who is the president of the National Sheep Dog Trial Association Inc. I should also acknowledge the other members of his team. They are a great organisation and they do some great work. I made a mistake in not acknowledging them on Friday.
I rise today to speak about one of the biggest events on the Canberra tourism calendar, the Summernats car festival. For many people from interstate, when you say “Canberra”, Summernats is the word that springs to mind. In a city with a reputation dominated by the home of federal parliament, the Summernats car festival diversifies that reputation and gets people thinking beyond parliament when it comes to Canberra and Canberrans.
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