Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has failed in his attempt to suspend standing orders in order to move a motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who dismissed the move as “cheap sneer and smear”.
Mr Shorten sought leave to move the motion, asking what happened to the Coalition’s promise of an “adult government”.
“There have been many promises broken by this government, but the promise to run a stable and mature government is arguable the biggest broken promise,” he said.
'The problem is what you’re selling people'
In a speech which covered climate change, republic debate and the budget, Mr Shorten singled out members of the government, calling Malcolm Turnbull “the Zorro of the dispatch box” and Christopher Pyne “the Member for hedging your bets”.
He also struck out at the Liberal Party’s attempted leadership spell, calling it “a debacle”.
“The problem is not the salesperson,” he said.
“The problem is what you’re selling people.”
The motion was seconded by Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek, who said Mr Abbott’s survival in the Liberal party room was “not a convincing victory”.
Mr Abbott called the motion “cheap sneer and smear”, saying that the government was getting on the job.
'This government doesn’t pretend to be perfect'
Raising issues such as pink batts and school halls, Mr Abbott said Labor was “in denial about what it did when it was in government”.
“This government hasn’t got everything right,” he said.
“This government doesn’t pretend to be perfect… This is a good government.”
Mr Abbott also heckled Mr Shorten, saying that his party was “not going to take lessons in unity from a leader of the Opposition who backstabbed two prime ministers”.
The motion ultimately failed following a division.
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