Australian Minister Agrees with What the Prime Minister Said Despite Having No Idea What the Prime Minister Said
The Honourable Bill Shorten, Australia's Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, doesn't need to know what Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in order to agree with her wholeheartedly.
That's what Sky News Australia political editor David Speers learned when he asked the MP if he thought Peter Slipper should be allowed to resume his role as Speaker while his sexual harassment case remains pending. Referencing remarks made by Gillard in Turkey, Shorten replied "I haven't seen what she's said, but let me say I support what it is she said."
"Hang on, you haven't seen what she said?" a stupefied Speers immediately shot back. "But I support what my Prime Minister said," reiterated nonchalantly. This went back and forth for a bit before Speers called out Shorten one last time for supporting comments he hadn't heard or read. "I'm sure she's right," Shorten said.
For the record, Gillard told reporters she believes Slipper should be reinstated in accordance with "a clear set of precedents where people have continued to function in their office while the subjects of civil matters."
