Pat Conroy (Charlton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

In nine days time, the people of New South Wales will be given the opportunity to send a clear message to Tony Abbott through his surfing buddy, Mike Baird, a man who has been completely gutless in defending the interests of New South Wales. He is a man who has been gutless in defending the people of Charlton, where we have 20,000 pensioners who are facing cuts because of the Prime Minister; where we have 9,000 families receiving Family Tax Benefit B who will lose that benefit when their youngest kid turns six; and where we are already seeing the impact of the $80 billion of cuts to schools and hospitals. All these are attacks by our Liberal government, aided by their surfing buddies in the New South Wales government.

It is a pity that Mike Baird, when he was waxing his surfboard with Tony Abbott, did not say to him, 'Mate—hands off New South Wales.' But he has not, so the people of New South Wales have the opportunity in nine days time to give a clear message: stop attacking New South Wales. Put in a government that will stand up for the interests of New South Wales people by stopping cuts to pensions, stopping cuts to school funding and stopping cuts to hospitals. It is time we put in a Foley Labor government that stands up for the interest of the people of New South Wales instead of a gutless Mike Baird, who is too busy surfing on the weekend with Tony Abbott—but does not want him anywhere near the campaign because he is box office poison. He is box office poison because he is attacking the people of New South Wales.

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