Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Be careful—he even says more. Former Liberal leader and Abbott boss Hewson goes on:

This is a government that says it's open for business. For Christ's sake, what business are you open for?

It is certainly not renewable energy.

Then, of course, we got the broken promises on submarines. I thought the performance of the Acting Prime Minister in question time today was outrageous. We put to the government a very straightforward statement. David Johnston, the little-known defence minister, who was being stalked by Mathais Cormann and his faction in the Western Australian Liberal Party—I would not want to be in the same party as that chap—fronts up at the Australian Submarine Corporation. No shame. He is right in front of where they build the subs—we know Liberals love being photographed with the military; it is just what they will not do for military equipment that is so outrageous—and on 8 May says: 'We will build 12 submarines in Adelaide.' He did not say what that Truss fellow said just before. He did not say, 'Well, the bulk of the Australian work will be done in South Australia.' No, he did not say that. He said: '12 submarines in Adelaide'. We just asked them a simple question today. If any of the backbenchers have any courage at all they should get up and say, 'Will the Liberal Party of Australia keep its promises on submarines?' Just keep your promises on submarines!

Ms Gambaro interjecting—

Come on, Teresa. You have a crack at it. Keep your promises. Let me quote the Governor-General and former CDF , Sir Peter Cosgrove. Right before he became Governor-General, he said:

Whenever I am asked why we should build submarines in Australia, my short reply is that we can’t afford not to.

Of course, what would the former CDF compared to all the Colonel Blimps over here know? Then there are the financial changes that the government is making. The government is so out of touch with the truth that it is recklessly deregulating consumer protections for people who consume financial products to a point where even the banks have said, 'You've gone too far.' How you can get outflanked on the left by the big banks of Australia defies me. It sets new land speed records. It is not only that the government have been outflanked by the banks where even they think the government is going too far in drinking the drug of deregulation and exposing people to further financial risk; it is that they lied about it.

So this week we have five different matters where this government continued to lie—despite the truth. It does not matter if it is jobs and renewable energy. It does not matter if it is jobs and submarines. It does not matter if it is out-of-control health spending—a confected crisis where they are scaring Australians to justify their rotten GP tax. It does not matter if they want to make it harder for working-class kids or kids from the bush. Wasn't that a classic answer from the Leader of the Nationals? His own party has said it is a bad idea. Of course, the Liberal Party has got its hand so far up that chap's back that he does not even remember the bush anymore.

What I saw today and what I have seen in the last couple of days with financial protections is that even Innes Willox, the spokesperson for the Ai Group, the Australian Industry Group, spelled out the lies of this government. Remember the dirty deal the government did with the Palmer United Party to wreck the retirement savings of millions of Australian? Innes Willox said:

… we wouldn't expect wages to rise to completely offset the postponement of the superannuation guarantee …

This mob promised real solutions, but all they are is part of the real problem of Australia.

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