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Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Page: 302

Mr EWEN JONES (Herbert) (15:47): Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.

The SPEAKER: Does the honourable member claim to have been misrepresented?

Mr EWEN JONES: Yes, most outrageously, Mr Speaker.

The SPEAKER: Please proceed.

Mr EWEN JONES: In today's Australian in the 'Strewth' column, it was reported:

As loud as it was, it didn't compare with the force of Nationals MP George Christensen's allusion to movie lines in Anthony Albanese's speeches. When Albo stood to object to Christopher Pyne's amusingly worded question about Labor's Craig Thomson, Christensen let rip with another popular Aaron Sorkin-penned line, "You can't handle the truth!"

Mr Speaker, it is obvious that 'I am as mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore'—that is the end of the quoting. It would appear that 'what we have here is a failure to communicate'. It is obvious that the journalist in question has asked a colleague who was there, 'Who yelled out, "You can't handle the truth"?' His colleague obviously said, 'The fat guy in the corner,' and the journalist jumped to the wrong conclusion: that it was the member for Dawson. Well, I say to him, 'Tell him he's dreaming,' and, to quote Jim Carrey from the lift scene in Liar Liar, 'It was me.'

The SPEAKER: The member should bring his personal explanation to a speedy conclusion—humorous though it is.

Mr EWEN JONES: I ask the journalist concerned to (a) issue an apology to my good friend and colleague the member for Dawson and (b) get a haircut so he can see for himself.

The SPEAKER: The member will resume his seat. It is an abuse of the processes of the House to dress something up as a personal explanation when it is not. Because the honourable member for Herbert is relatively new, I will ignore it on this occasion.