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

Thank you for your guidance, Madam Speaker. The Prime Minister missed the opportunity of peacetime foreign policy in Australia, the like of which we will not see again in this generation. Instead of talking about climate change—which he never wanted to do—he never saw President Obama walking away and having a policy on the future, unlike the little Australia mentality of this current government. He blew the opportunity; instead he was like one of those carnival show or sideshow-alley hucksters, barking, 'Roll-up, roll-up.' Let us see Australia's pathetic answers on climate change.

What he did was to give a character reference on the Australian people. He complained about the Australian people to the rest of the world. Who is this Prime Minister to complain about the Australian people when they do not like his GP tax? Who is this Prime Minister to complain about the Australian people to the rest of the world to say that we are anti-reform and anti-change and that we do not have a vision for the future? And that is all because he broke his promises before the last election.

This is a government adrift in every sense of the word. Have a look at this debacle over Defence. I know the jungle drums are beating within the government: 'Who will get Senator Johnston's spot?' I know the Prime Minister is stubbornly refusing to give him up, but we on this side predict that it is only a matter of time before we have a new Minister for Defence in this country, as we should. The pay of our Defence Force is not keeping pace with the real wages and the real prices, and that is an effective pay cut. We also know that when it comes to dealing with all of the issues, this is a government adrift: the budget is adrift; the GP tax is a rotten idea going nowhere fast, even if the government want it; higher education policies in this country are adrift. We know that the treatment of pensioners in this country is adrift with the cut to the indexation rate of pensions. Every government member knows that their budget is adrift. They have no domestic policy. On the world stage we missed the G20—the nation missed the G20. I admit that the member for Kooyong got his head on TV during the G20—he personally had a good G20—but the government and the nation had a very bad G20.

The difference with Labor is that next year we will demonstrate what a plan should look like. We will demonstrate the power of positive ideas. We intend to win the next election, not because we are not the government and not based on the list of the government's lies but because we have a view about the future and we have faith in the Australian people. We will keep defeating your rotten measures this year and next year right up to the next election.

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