Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

That is absolutely right. It is so very unfortunate to see that the members opposite are continuously being negative. Look at where Australia is right now and compare us to just about any other country in the world. Where would you rather be? Member for Fairfax, where would you rather be? I know I would rather be here in Australia than in just about any other country. So many people, so many of my constituents tell me: 'Thank God for Scott Morrison. Thank God for the Treasurer.' They don't usually say, 'Thank God for the PM,' although they sometimes do. I'm just using it as a quote. They say, 'Thank God for the Prime Minister. Thank God for the Treasurer.' It's true. I can't quite remember anyone ever having said to me: 'Thank God for the Leader of the Opposition.' Some people do. Some people think he's our best asset, but I'll leave that one alone. He probably is our best asset.

On this side of the House, we believe that a rising tide lifts all boats. On that side of the House, they believe that the only way that you can lift an Australian up is by tearing someone else down. We don't believe in that. We believe that Australia is the greatest country in the world, and we want to give people the opportunity to be the best that they can be. Those members opposite have absolutely and categorically lost their way. They believe that they can ignore, in fact they believe they can trash, what used to be their traditional constituency—that is, the worker. The Labor Party is no longer the party of the worker. We on this side of the House support workers more than those opposite ever will. Even the member for Hunter—

Opposition members interjecting—

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