Parliament question time highlights

QUESTION TIME IN FEDERAL PARLIAMENT

THE SYRIAN CRISIS: Labor leader Bill Shorten tells Tony Abbott many Australians, including Liberal and Labor premiers and thousands who attended candlelight vigils, want the government to do more to help Syrian refugees. "Will the government join with Labor to offer an additional 10,000 places to refugees displaced by the Syrian crisis on top of Australia's existing humanitarian intake?" Shorten asks. The PM responds: "We will do more in the weeks and months and years to come because we are a decent and compassionate people ... who always step up to the plate." Goes on to say the government will have "much more" to say within 24 hours after hearing from Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, who is in Geneva for talks with UN officials.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie fails in his attempt to bring on a debate about accepting 30,000 refugees after the government and Labor voted against the cross bench.

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WANTED TO SPIN: How its plan for lower taxes, more infrastructure and expanded trade will create jobs.

WHAT LABOR WANTED TO TALK ABOUT: Syrian refugees and the government's apparent lack of financial support to the humanitarian effort. Abbott "sticks to the facts", reminding opposition MPs that only 98 refugees came to Australia when Labor was in government. By contrast, the coalition accepted 1000 in its first year from the Syrian conflict and 2200 in its second. It has also provided $100 million in assistance.

THEY SAID WHAT:

"When it came to the vote, he couldn't say yes, he couldn't say no, because he is too weak to be the alternative prime minister of this country," Abbott chides Shorten about a pre-question time vote on the China free-trade deal.

"If there is one country in the world that has the capacity to do much more, it is this country. It is Australia," independent MP Andrew Wilkie as he tries to have the parliament debate a motion to accept 30,000 Syrian refugees.

"We could well be in a situation where a decision is made to bomb a country before a decision is made to take refugees from there, because we did not have the opportunity to debate these matters in parliament," Greens MP Adam Bandt.

"The only reason why they don't like one particular dodgy union official is because she was a whistleblower," Abbott about Kathy Jackson, labelled "the disgraced Kathy Jackson" by Labor.

ACROSS THE CHAMBER:

"They're like twins," Labor's Pat Conroy suggests to Speaker Tony Smith, who apologises for rebuking Liberal Warren Entsch instead of Warren Snowdon.

"You're a real hypothenuse Barnaby," Conroy later tells accountant Barnaby Joyce, who stumbles on the sentence: "You don't have to be Pythagoras to get it."

"It's like an episode of Fantasy Island," Labor's Nick Champion says as Abbott asked how the government plans to create more jobs.

TWEETED:

"PM talks of stepping up to the plate ... while dodging the question," Labor MP Andrew Giles.

"Tony Abbott is no John Howard. He's confusing stubbornness with strength," Labor MP Tim Watts.

"Andrew Wilkie demonstrating the small but significant residual power of the parliamentary individual," @GreenJ.

"Wilkie talking down Australia. What a surprise," @chriskenny.