Blundering minister Clare O’Neil is left red-faced during car crash Question Time days after starting her new job: Here’s how her word salads failed to save her from an embarrassing error, writes PETER VAN ONSELEN

Just two weeks since she was dumped from the home affairs ministry after a series of scandals and errors in the portfolio, Clare O’Neil has been caught out yet again. 

This time the new housing minister has seemingly misled the parliament, making up expert quotes on Tuesday after already being forced to apologise for making up economic modelling she attributed to Treasury early this week.

It’s already been a horror run for O’Neil in her new role since parliament returned this week, with one Labor MP sarcastically asking Daily Mail Australia ‘is it too soon for another reshuffle?’ in response to the minister’s failed performance in Question Time today. 

The housing minister even managed to unite the Coalition and the Greens with her woeful performance, as they tag-teamed in pointing out the growing list of gaffes and untruths coming from O’Neil’s lips. 

The Greens went first, asking O’Neil about her apology for making up Treasury modelling she claimed supported Labor’s policy to build 160,000 new homes. 

It turns out no such modelling exists, as Treasury had already confirmed prior to O’Neil’s comments. 

The minister then attempted to claim she’d simply mistaken modelling by the Property Council for modelling by Treasury, only for the Property Council to confirm that she couldn’t have been quoting its data either, because it revealed that there would be no net increase in homes built under the policy. 

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse for the new minister, half way into Question Time O’Neil was asked another devastating question by the Coalition housing spokesman Michael Sukkar. 

He wanted to know which experts she was referring to yesterday when she claimed ‘there are experts in industry that say it (the CFMEU scandals) has no impact on residential construction’. 

A failure to cough up a name opens up the possibility that she misled the Parliament. 

Shadow housing minister Michael Sukkar (pictured) appeared to catch new housing minister Clare O’Neil out making up experts to support her arguments on Tuesday

O’Neil’s attempts at evasion ended with her revealing that she in fact couldn’t name a single expert to support her claims in the House yesterday. Talk about high farce. 

At first O’Neil simply served up various word salads rather than admit another mistake as she accused the opposition and the Greens of playing politics.

You could see the looks of dismay on her colleagues ‘faces. 

Then when Sukkar tightened his question to ask it for a second time, seeking to force an answer from the minister under parliamentary standing orders. 

The Labor Speaker then insisted O’Neil answer in a way that was relevant to the question, boxing her into a corner. 

Mr Albanese (pictured left) must be wondering when his new housing minister Clare O’Neil (pictured right) will finally stop making mistakes

Dumped from the home affairs portfolio Clare O’Neil (pictured) isn’t finding life any easier in the housing portfolio where she’s already been caught out multiple times making things up

However, O’Neil continued to evade rather than admitting another error so soon into her new role, which could have made her ministerial position even less tenable than it has already become. 

Eventually the Speaker sat the minister down so she stopped embarrassing herself. 

One assumes O’Neil will hit the phones over night in a desperate bid to try and find someone, anyone, after the fact, who can be referred to as an expert to support her claims – rather than be forced to admit another embarrassing error tomorrow when Parliament resumes.