Mr ZAMMIT(7.33 p.m.) —I want to refer tonight to some unfortunate statements made by the honourable member for Grayndler (Mr Albanese) and the honourable member for Watson (Mr Leo McLeay) in the debate last night on the Aviation Legislation Amendment Bill. What I want to say at the outset is that I paid them the courtesy of informing them earlier this evening that I was going to refer to both of them in this adjournment debate this evening. All I can say is that it is a pity that they did not extend the same courtesy to me last night.

They both stated that they wanted to know where I was last night. I would just like to mention the statements that they made. The honourable member for Watson, referring to me, said:

Where is he? It is quarter past nine. This debate has been going on since just after 8 o'clock. We have not heard from him. Goodness knows where he is.

Then the honourable member for Grayndler said:

The honourable member for Lowe (Mr Zammit) certainly will not be speaking in this debate, because the member for Lowe is cowering and running from anything to do with Sydney airport.

I would just like to say that the bill before the house last night had absolutely nothing to do with Sydney airport. In fact, both the honourable member for Grayndler and the honourable member for Watson were not even on the speakers list. They attempted an ambush. All I can say is that it was a premeditated and coordinated attack on me and they did not have the guts or the decency to inform me of the attack on me personally.

I would just like to say for the record that I was, at 8 o'clock last night, at a reception for an international communications forum organised by the Hon. Chris Miles, Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet) to the Prime Minister, at which we had overseas participants visiting Canberra to talk about lifting the ethics in the media. No doubt they also made passing reference to the role of parliamentarians in regards to the media. The participants were William Porter, who is a very widely experienced journalist, Rajmohan Gandhi, a journalist and author and a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and others, who came to Australia to talk to us about lifting the standard in the media and the role of parliamentarians.

I would just like to say that I cut my political teeth in the New South Wales bear pit. You do not survive there for 12 years, as I did, unless you learned how to look after yourself and learned to dish it out when the dishing out was done to you in addition to that.

Mr Lloyd —And representing your constituents.

Mr ZAMMIT —And representing my constituents, yes. I would just like to warn the honourable member for Watson and the honourable member for Grayndler that if they do that again, if they do not pay me the courtesy—or their colleagues on the other side of parliament—of informing us that they are going to do a dump job, then all I can say is that if that is the sort of thing that they want, I can dish it out as well.

I think that that is not the best thing to do for our constituents or for the parliament, in which we are very honoured to represent the Australian nation. The reason why they are no doubt very upset at circumstances surrounding aircraft noise—which, incidentally, had nothing to do with what was before the House last night—is that I have succeeded, beyond my wildest dreams, and no doubt it is upsetting the Labor members.

I issued a press release on 14 February, which I stand by. We promised, prior to the election, a reduction of aircraft noise, over my electorate, of 47 per cent. It is now going to go up to 65 per cent reduction of planes over my electorate. No wonder they are trying their best to denigrate me. All I can say is that I have the support of my constituents. It was there before the election, it is there now and it is increasing in the number of votes that have been promised to me by my constituents.

The last thing I want to say is that the thing that I found most despicable—I want to raise this—on the other side, is to bring into this debate the Australian Lebanese community and the Australian Greek community, who have absolutely nothing to do with this issue of aircraft noise. If that is the sort of attitude you people on the other side have adopted, all I can say is that you are going to be sitting there for a long, long time to come, and that is well and good as far as I am concerned.