Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

I love September. September is the time of footy finals. This weekend the AFL footy finals begin and there will be some fantastic games. There will be a terrific game at Adelaide Oval on Sunday with Port Adelaide versus Richmond.

Mr Albanese interjecting—

I'm coming to you, Son! That will be a cracker at the great Adelaide Oval on Saturday. My Mighty Blues did not make the finals this year, unfortunately. There are, of course. local footy finals on, too, and the SANFL finals in South Australia. We will see the Mighty Double Blues this weekend playing against South on Saturday at Adelaide Ovals also. What happens at footy finals time, at the end of the season in September, is that many of the players on the sides who do make the finals—many who have been around and some have been absolute stars of the game, some have been dominant forces for over a decade—think about whether it is time to go on. They think about whether their body can handle another pre-season, whether their capacities can keep up to the modern standard of the game, whether they are able to make the effort yet again to push and get through to the start of another season and battle up, particularly if their side is not likely to make the finals for some time. They think to themselves, 'It might be time I retired, before it becomes really sad, that I am nowhere near the player I once was when I was the dominant play for a decade, maybe it's time that I retire. Maybe it's time to give someone else a go. Maybe it's time to think whether it is worth spending more time at home, away from the hard yards of the training track. Maybe it's time to retire. Maybe I can't do it again.' For people who are looking at this pre-season and thinking about it, if their side is not likely to make the final next year, the draft picks will not home, that they might go home over this break and think to themselves, 'Can I go on again?' The reality is, some players just lose it.

That happens in politics, too, would you believe. There is a parallel with politics. There are people in politics who did at one time contribute substantially to the national debate. At times they contribute to the national debate in a substantial way. In fact, they tried to save a government. There were some reflections in a recent book by Paul Kelly which talked about some advice which was given on a certain night in June, advice which should have been followed. He was a very smart political operator who understood that what the factions were doing that night would destroy two Prime Ministers—I think that is the exact quote. That was a time for a former senior player to think about whether it is time to retire.

We see the complaints desk on the other side, those who cannot bring themselves to accept the fact that the government changed 12 months ago, that they cannot handle the fact that a new government is getting on and delivering on infrastructure across the board when it comes to government. They really need to start to think about whether it is time to give another young, up-and-coming player the chance to have a go.

All we just heard from the member for Grayndler was from someone who has refused to accept the reality of what happened 12 months ago. We know the anger. We heard the screaming just then and all the anger coming through. We have heard the anger today where he is yelling at business leaders, 'You're too bloody polite.' We have heard about the phone calls to industry associations after the budget when they praised the government's infrastructure agenda, criticising them heavily about what they had said publicly about the infrastructure commitments made by this government.

The reality is the opposition have put themselves outside the mainstream debate. They are no longer relevant. It is absolutely clear that the Labor Party continues to take the tactical advice from geniuses like the member for Batman who put themselves completely outside the debate.

An opposition member interjecting—

You are the guy who refused Anthony's advice on the end of June 2010. You are the one who avoided Anthony's advice so let's go back to what Paul Kelly wrote this week.

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