Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

The Nationals took a decision today to have a party room vote, as is the convention of any political party. The opposition leader mentions the leadership changes in the Liberal-National government. I think Australians can well remember what went on in the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years. They were dysfunctional, they were chaotic and they were not good for this nation. Indeed, we have worked very hard as a government to repay the debt left to us as a legacy of those Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years. Just prior to the pandemic hitting, we were so close to getting back in the black. Indeed, we would have got back in the black but for the global pandemic. If it has escaped the attention of the opposition leader and those behind him, we are in the middle of a global pandemic. We are addressing that very excruciating issue for and on behalf of Australians. We have, since 2013, been a very, very good government. There are more people in employment now than there were when we got back into government in 2013. The unemployment rate, at 5.1 per cent, as determined just last week, is lower than it was prior to the pandemic. That is something that we should be proud of. We have not lost our AAA credit rating. We have more Australians in work, and more women in work. They are participating in the workforce. That is a good thing, and I'm sure that the women of the Labor Party agree that that is a good thing. We will go on being a good government. Under the Prime Minister, under the member for New England, we will go on being a good government, serving Australians as you would expect us to do, and as Australians would expect us to do.

It has been a bit of a tough day for me, but I've still got a job. There are many Australians out there who are doing it far tougher. There are many Australians today who are in hospital wards recovering from COVID, and my thoughts are with them. My thoughts are not about me. This isn't about me; this is about Australians. We will go on serving Australians. We will go on serving those Australians who have got mice ravaging their farms. We will go on serving small-business owners who are concerned about whether they will have a future. Rest assured, under the Liberals and Nationals, the economic future will be far brighter than it would ever be under an Albanese-led government. It will be far better than it was during those six sorry, chaotic, divided, dysfunctional years under Rudd, Gillard and Rudd.

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