James Campbell: Entertaining battle shaping up between Richard Marles of Geelong Grammar and Angus Taylor of King’s School

While there have been few fireworks in question time between PM Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Sussan Ley, the prospect of expensively educated Richard Marles and Angus Taylor going head-to-head for the next three years has entertainment potential.

Question time between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Sussan Ley have been disappointing. Picture: Martin Ollman

For those who were hoping for fireworks between the Prime Minister and the new opposition leader this week’s question times have been disappointing.

Just as on her first outing on Wednesday Sussan Ley was content to ask Albanese a couple of, it must be said, rather unfocused questions, before handing over to the boys on her frontbench.

First up on Thursday she wanted to know why after “261 days after they elected a new president” of the United States, Albo had yet to meet him.

He didn’t answer of course but he did repeat, as he has since at least June, the useful factoid that he and President Trump have spoken three times.

Sussan Ley during question time at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Martin Ollman

Perhaps Ley wasn’t listening or she’s unfamiliar with this oft repeated prime ministerial boast, because she wasted her next question by asking if following his “recent overseas travels, has he had a conversation with the US President?”

That question included a preamble about the “making excuses for unacceptable live firing exercises of Australia’s coast” by China’s navy but it was Ley’s defence spokesman Angus Taylor who later asked the PM if in his ‘nothing to see here’ response to the recent Chinese outrage he was seriously suggesting that just because we engage with our allies in the South China Sea “that the Chinese Communist Party is free to conduct live fire exercises without warnings of the South Coast of New South Wales.”

It was a good question to which there is unfortunately no good answer.

Because as disrespectful as China’s behaviour is, there is, alas, nothing we can do about it, not only as a matter of international law, but as Taylor well knows, as a matter of fact, which is why the government is no doubt keen to play it down.

Shadow Minister for Defence Angus Taylor was educated at the elite King’s School. Picture: Martin Ollman

Not that it was Albo who explained this to Taylor – he wasn’t going to dignify him with an answer – instead delegating the question to the Defence Minister or “DPM” as Richard Marles likes to be called.

And I have to tell you sports fans while Albo versus Ley is so far looking like a bust, the prospect of two of Australia’s most expensively educated politicians – Geelong Grammar’s Marles (circa $84k a year including board) and the King’s School Parramatta’s Taylor (ditto) – going head-to-head for the next three years has real entertainment potential.

Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles is a former Geelong Grammar School student. Picture: AFP

Finally a shout out to the winner of the coveted prize for First MP To Be Chucked Out for the 48th parliament which went to Queenslander Scott Buchholz.

Well done Scott!

Originally published as James Campbell: Entertaining battle shaping up between Richard Marles of Geelong Grammar and Angus Taylor of King’s School