No meeting of minds in question time

There was absolutely no meeting of minds at the week's last question time.

All Labor wanted to talk about was negative gearing; all the government was interested in was its just-released Defence White Paper.

Every Labor question was about negative gearing, with numerous variations on the theme the government's response to Labor's policy is contradictory.

They included some unflattering comparisons between Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott.

Tanya Plibersek, for example, said Turnbull had abandoned significant reform and resorted to Abbott-style scare campaigns, adopting every characteristic he'd criticised in the former PM.

Turnbull shot back that Plibersek had abandoned every characteristic of a shadow foreign minister.

His main answer to the barrage was that Labor was the friend of the rich and the foe of ordinary people.

He and Julie Bishop also complained that Labor wasn't asking about defence.

Why would it bother when a queue of government MPs lined up to ask for the good news.

And a disproportionate number just happened to be members in marginal electorates with big defence establishments - such as seats in Townsville, Darwin and Adelaide.

Moreover, in all the boasting about the white paper, there was hardly a mention of things that go bang and kill people, while very little was said of some of the astronomical costs or the strategic calculations underpinning the new policy.

It was all about jobs and developing modern manufacturing.

The irrepressible Christopher Pyne, with a double interest as industry and innovation minister and as an Adelaide MP, enthused that defence industries were a pillar of Australia's national security capability and the government was committed to driving high-tech and advanced manufacturing.

Pyne was one of a large ministerial team on boasting duty.

Another was the newly minted Infrastructure and Transport Minister Darren Chester, a National.

He cheekily referred to the "Turnbull-Joyce" government.

Barnaby Joyce, the new Nationals leader and deputy PM, grinned. Turnbull gave a tight little smile.