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

I hear a few government members interjecting. You've lost the right to interject when you don't even want to be in the parliament! We will take your interjections all day—we just wish you would turn up to work. What a bunch of no-hopers! They're actually putting up a resolution that they don't want to go to work. The work of the parliament is in the chamber, not in the meetings behind closed doors as you allocate jobs. If I were the National Party, I would be very disappointed in their senior coalition partner.

What about the farmers in the drought—are we going to talk about the drought today that is affecting Australians? I don't think so, because the government is adjourning the parliament. Are we going to talk about the congestion in our big cities and the need to have more public transport and more roads funding? I don't think so. Are we going to talk about properly funding our health system and our hospitals? I don't think so. This parliament should not adjourn. If anyone needs to depart from this place, it is not the parliament; it is this government of Australia, which has not just lost the confidence of its own backbench and of the opposition but has lost the confidence of everyday Australians. Shame on you!

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