# Christopher Pyne

Christopher Maurice Pyne is an Australian politician currently serving as the Minister for Defence in the Morrison Government. He has also been Leader of the House of Representatives since 2013. He is due to retire at this impending election

## Parliamentary Career

   Pyne: I'm a fixer. I fixed it by funding it in another way, which you'll find out about in the budget
   Speers: Why can't you tell us?
   Pyne: Because I want it to be a surprise for you.
Pyne to David Speers on extra funding for universities on a Sky News interview in 2015, when Pyne was Education Minister.
   Pyne: *Whistles*
   Reporter: You're remarkably calm this morning minister
   Pyne: That's me!
Pyne to an ABC reporter the morning after the Liberal Party leadership spill, 2018
   Pyne: I come from the front not from the back
   Wilkinson: But I thought you were the fixer?
   Pyne: You can fix from the front, you don't just have to fix from the back
Pyne on the Today show after Malcolm Turnbull gained leadership of the Liberal Party from Tony Abbot in 2015
   Pyne: Where are the nuts?
   *Chuckling in the background*
   Pyne: I have to go to the airport in these filthy hands you know!
   Reporter: Not the first time he's said that
   Pyne: Hoh Hoh Hoh Hoh!
   Stefanovic: Excuse Me! Albert, that's disgusting!
Pyne on the Today show, replacing a car wheel in his electorate of Sturt
   Pyne: You're such a cunt
   Speaker (Browyn Bishop): The minister will refer to people by their correct name\
   Pyne: I will Madam Speaker I will withdraw.
To Tony Burke on the floor of the House of Representatives
   Reporter: Are you afraid to go out to restraunts in Melbourne?
   Pyne: No, why?
   Reporter: Because the Prime Minister said this morning that....
   Pyne: *Laughs* Should I be?
   Reporter: Well, the Prime Minister says that colleagues from Victoria....
   Pyne: Oh, because of the gang, the violence. I'm sorry Mark, I wasn't following you. I didn't understand the question. Ah, perhaps you could ask me again
Pyne responding to questions following a factory tour in Melbourne.
   Pyne: Thank you, Mr Speaker. To the chagrin of a few and the joy of many, maybe even some in this place, I'm retiring from the Australian parliament. On 28 April 1992, I was preselected for Sturt. The opening lines of my speech were: 'In 1966, after 17 years, Sir Keith Wilson handed Sturt over to his son Ian. Now, 26 years later, it's time to change again.' Of course, I went on to win that preselection. After almost 27 years, it's time for renewal in Sturt again.
Opening lines of Pyne's Valedictory Speech, 4th April 2019
   Pyne: A first speech is an opportunity to state a personal philosophical direction. That is what I intend to do. Many friends and family have travelled from Adelaide and Sydney to be here tonight, and I would like to acknowledge their presence. They worked tirelessly from my preselection to election day, and I am grateful for their support. The win on 13 March was as much theirs as it was mine and that of the Liberal Party of Australia. I have one disappointment; that is, my father, who died in 1988, cannot be here. I have been very fortunate to be the recipient of great affection from my very large and boisterous family.
Opening lines of Pyne's Maiden Speech, 31st August 1993
   Pyne: Don't defame me on national television!
Pyne to Karl Stefanovic on Sam Dastyari's Chinese-political donations scandal, 9th September 2016.