Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I second this motion. If anybody needed any reassurance that this government is built on a lie, then they should look no further than this latest betrayal of the Australian people. This government went to the 2007 election saying to the Australian people that under no circumstances would it introduce this change. In question time today, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health tried to say to us that somehow they sought a mandate in 2010 for this change of position. But have a look at the time line and you get an understanding of the depth of betrayal that this government has undertaken on the Australian people.

This is a government that in February 2009 said to the Australian people that this rebate was not going to be modified at all. That was before the 2010 election, Minister Plibersek. This was not a mandate that you sought at the 2010 election. You went with a lie to the Australian people in the 2007 election and you betrayed that by the time of February, March, April and May of 2009. This is a government that did not seek a mandate for a change of policy in 2010. We should put a stop to that lie and that latest betrayal right here and right now.

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