Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this afternoon to talk about our new Prime Minister and his penchant for saying one thing and, of course, then doing another. It is not a new thing. It began a long time ago. It certainly began with the NBN, as we have seen just now. Not only has the budget doubled, but also he has broken his promise to so many—a 2016 promise, I believe—for a deadline that is certainly not going to be delivered now. We know that it is not just in this space that he has said one thing and done another. In the environment space, the Prime Minister said that an ETS was 'the most cost effective' but, of course, he now believes something different and does something different. On marriage equality he believed that a free vote would get us into a space where we could move forward as a country; but now, of course, he thinks differently. He is going to do something completely different.

Of course, in the republic debate, and I know a lot of Australians are really sad about this, the confirmed republican is now going to stand back. Rather than join the opposition leader, which he once claimed was what this country needed, he is going to back away and stay silent. None of this is a surprise. Look at what we have had across the last month. Every time he gets an opportunity he wants to talk about innovation, but he will not fund education. You cannot talk about innovation, jobs of the future, the agility and performance of our students, and not put money where your mouth is. (Time expired)

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