A UAE-made crockery set has become a show piece of the Australian election, with two senators demanding it be removed from the nation’s Parliament House and replaced with a locally made set.
John Madigan, from the Democratic Labour Party, and Independent Nick Xenophon, have paid for a 750-piece dining set worth $10,700 to be donated to Parliament House in replace of the UAE-made plates and bowls.
The men claim the parliament should only be supporting local business.
“It is an insult to Australian manufacturers that we are not showcasing their wares in what should be the people’s House,” Senator Madigan was quoted as saying in the Herald Sun.
“The situation is so dire that in order to get Australian-made goods into our Federal Parliament, Nick and I had to buy them ourselves.”
The senators said they were furious to discover the current crockery was made in the UAE.
“The nation’s Parliament not using Australian crockery is a complete crock,” Senator Xenophon said.
“I’m looking forward to [incumbent Prime Minister] Kevin Rudd and [opposition leader] Tony Abbott welcoming this gift and eating off the plates.
“It’s enough of a scandal the plates at Parliament House aren’t locally made. It will be a bigger scandal if they knock back this gift.”
Australia is in the midst of an election campaign, with a poll due to be held on September 7.
The senators intend to make the crockery set an election issue.
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