Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Infrastructure) Share this | Hansard source

for the defeat of the people of the National Party who thought that they could take their electorates for granted. When political mortality flashes before their eyes, they jump up on all sorts of things. But they will not stand up for the people within their electorates who are struggling. They will not stand up for the people who are their heroes. There are absolute lions in their own electorates. I am sure the member for Cowper gives a fine speech on the stumps in Coffs Harbour about the importance of looking after people who are disadvantaged but, when he comes down here along with all of his other National Party colleagues, he falls in like a lamb behind Malcolm Turnbull and sticks up his hand for all of the cuts which are going to damage and hurt the interests of the lowest income people and the most disadvantaged people in his electorate.

He came close at the last election. He had a bit of a scare himself at the last election, if I recall correctly. There is a reason for that. It is because he and every other one of the National Party MPs are taking their electorates for granted, and their electorates are starting to wake up to them. We will ensure that every day that this parliament sits and every day between now and the next election we will hold them accountable for the fact that they are voting against the very interests of the people they are sent here to represent. I oppose the bill and I support the second reading amendment.

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