Prime minister labels opposition leader the ‘Dr Goebbels of economic policy’ in his second reference to Nazi Germany in recent weeks

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

A few weeks ago it was the Holocaust, and now Tony Abbott has used another reference to Nazi Germany during a parliamentary attack on Labor.

The prime minister labelled opposition leader Bill Shorten the “Dr Goebbels of economic policy”, likening him to Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi minister for propaganda.



Abbott immediately withdrew the remark, but not before opposition MPs erupted in anger.



During a rowdy exchange, speaker Bronwyn Bishop suspended shadow attorney general Mark Dreyfus from the chamber.



When Labor pleaded for his reprieve, government leader of the house Christopher Pyne reminded Bishop that Dreyfus had made a similar Goebbels reference when criticising Abbott’s anti-carbon tax campaign in 2011.



Bishop ignored their calls and Dreyfus wasn’t reinstated.