Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Cowan's contribution shows exactly what is wrong with the modern Liberal Party. It was an absolute litany of negativity; not a single positive acknowledgement that Australia by world standards today is a miracle economy; not a single acknowledgement that we have unemployment beneath five per cent—and he leaves now because he does not want to hear the good news. Every day in the chamber when unemployment figures come up do we hear a single 'isn't that great' from the opposition; a single 'Hear hear!, Terrific work, having all these Australians in work'?

Never! That litany of negativity, the constant chipping and undermining of confidence in Australians and of Australians' confidence in themselves and in our economy at a time when, if you look around the world, you see how important are confidence and stability, is incredibly unpatriotic. It is incredibly damaging to Australia's sense of itself. I do not expect the opposition to agree with us on a whole range of policy settings. I know they have other priorities: they do not want to help disabled people, they do not want to invest in school education—

See this speech in context