Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Those opposite are not conservatives; they are vandals. The proposition that we would close down the Parliament of Australia because they can't organise themselves to work out who the Prime Minister is going to be is a shock to the people of Australia, who deserve so much better. Here we have the Nationals actually caucusing on the floor of the parliament, trying to work out what they're going to do. What are you going to do? Are you going to support the suspension of the parliament or do you support democracy? Do you support this parliament doing its job, governing for all Australians?

Australians are working hard today. They're working in their mines, on the farms, in the factories and in the shops. They're working in their offices. They're teaching our children and nursing our sick. They're at work doing their jobs. The least they can expect from their government is that the government would turn up to do its job, to focus on what matters: more jobs with decent pay and conditions, dealing with the blowouts in hospital waiting times and hospital waiting lists, making sure that every child gets a great education and that our young Australians can go to TAFE or university, dealing with the drought and considering our place in the world. What are they doing? They're considering who sits on the front bench. That's all they're doing opposite. After five years, we have a government that can only focus on itself, consumed by chaos, dysfunction and ego.

Not one of the three people that we've heard touted as Prime Minister deserves the job. We have one with no authority. That's the member for Wentworth—no authority. We've got one with no legitimacy. That's the member for Dickson. We're not sure that he is eligible to sit in this parliament. And we've got one with no decency. The member for Cook has never had the colours to nail his colours to the mast. Is he a conservative? Is he a moderate? Where does he stand on the division? He is like a hyena circling around the corpse of the modern Liberal Party, waiting for his chance, waiting for his chance to come up the middle. And the Minister for Foreign Affairs used to be discussed as a potential leader. She doesn't even have the courage to stand.

These conservatives—imagine what Sir Robert Menzies would think of this mob opposite. In 1942 Sir Robert Menzies delivered his forgotten Australians speech, his 'forgotten people' speech. What would Sir Robert Menzies think of a house divided? He would have been the first to say that a house divided cannot stand. It's like the Montagues and the Capulets. It's like the Hatfields and the McCoys. This is a generational break in the modern Liberal Party, because the conservatives will never let the moderates govern and the moderates will never let the conservatives govern. How will they ever bridge this divide?

In 1942, with that 'forgotten people' speech, many say Sir Robert Menzies is credited with being the father of the modern Liberal Party. Today is the funeral of the modern Liberal party. We are witnessing history being made today, because this house divided cannot stand. Given that this house divided cannot stand, the only solution is for whoever the Prime Minister is right now to drive out to the Governor-General and to let the people of Australia decide. Let the people of Australia decide whether they want a government focused only on itself, only on its own jobs, or they want a government that is focused on more jobs with decent pay and conditions, on an education system that gives every child the best start in life and the greatest opportunities, on a health system that cares for our most vulnerable with proper funding for our hospitals and GPs—whether they want a government that can solve the problems of our energy policy with lower prices and lower pollution.

The only solution is not closing down parliament today but for whoever the Prime Minister is to drive out to the Governor-General and let the Australian people decide. Let the Australian people decide.

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