Sarah Henderson (Corangamite, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It was an absolute, utter scandal, but Labor could not care less. Truth mattered not. The Medicare rebate was frozen by Labor back in 2013. The Medicare rebate was frozen because Labor had made such a mess of its budget, with spiralling debts and deficit, and four surpluses that it promised to deliver but never did. There was only one ice king responsible for that frozen rebate in this place, and it was the Leader of the Opposition. This year we are investing more than $22 billion in Medicare, over $1 billion more than last year. This will increase to nearly $26 billion in 2019-20.

The Leader of the Opposition speaks about manufacturing jobs in Geelong. I am very proud to represent a large part of Geelong. Yes, the people of Geelong are hurting after Ford closed its manufacturing operations—under the previous Labor government. The auto industry started to close in this country under Labor, not helped by a carbon tax that was costing manufacturing $1.1 billion. Before the election we heard about Labor's 50 per cent renewable energy target, but with no plan to get there, putting at risk thousands of blue-collar jobs for green votes in the city. Labor took the same approach when it sat in silence as Daniel Andrews cancelled the East West Link at a cost of $1.2 billion, sacrificing blue-collar jobs once again for green votes in the city of Melbourne. It was an absolute disgrace. We saw division everywhere. And, yet again, this Labor opposition sat in silence as Labor attempted to destroy the CFA, working in conjunction with the militant UFU. Did Labor understand the division that this caused in regional Victoria, including many communities right throughout the Corangamite electorate? Where were Labor's guts to stand up to something that they knew, fundamentally, was wrong?

What have we seen in this 45th Parliament? Despite the promises of the Leader of the Opposition, more of the same. Our alternative Prime Minister of this country determined that it was proper to call President-elect Trump barking mad. We all may have different views about different leaders in different parts of the world, but for an alternative Prime Minister to do that was absolutely irresponsible and divisive. He refused to support a plebiscite for same-sex marriage after saying he would support it—divisive politics, that is what drove that decision. Now we hear again in this chamber, in this debate, a continuation of the Medicare lie—more gutter politics from Labor. A continuation of the lie. And now we hear more gutter politics about a backpacker tax giving a better tax rate to foreign workers than Australians. Once again, we see an unprincipled, divisive Labor Party who put foreign workers ahead of our Australian workers. Even on small business tax cuts—what hypocrisy, what divisiveness from Labor. Previously, Labor supported small business tax cuts, because they knew they were good for jobs. Now, because it is unprincipled and divisive, it is opposing those tax cuts. Even on pensions, where we delivered $30 a fortnight to 170,000 of the most vulnerable pensioners, Labor has denied that. It is divisive, gutter politics from Labor.

Ms Butler interjecting—

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