Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

He used to say it a lot. I'll make it really easy for him, because it's a number between 274 and 276. It's 275. Before the election, he said it 97 times. He stood at press conferences. He said 275. He stood in front of hi-vis workers. He said 275. He probably said it with pharmacists behind him—275. Why did he say the number 275? Is it because he likes that test high score by those three test greats that I mentioned? Or is it because he was talking about the amount of money that Labor was going to cut from power bills across the country? We all now know that $275 promise was a fib—a fib to get votes; a fib to convince people that somehow Labor cared about people's power prices; that somehow Labor cared that, when businesses and families went to turn on the switch, they were suddenly going to get a lower power bill. No. They broke that promise. Because that's what Labor governments do. Prior to an election, they say something; after the election, they do something else completely. You can never, ever trust Labor. Don't ever trust Labor for what they say they are going to do. Remember always what Labor does—push prices up.

Today, unfortunately, we've got another rate rise. Another rate rise that's going to have such an impost on those mortgaged homebuyers, those people who are paying off a house. The greatest investment they'll ever make has just become that much more difficult, that much dearer. That's the Labor way. They never, ever see a tax they don't want to jack up. They never, ever see a policy proposal they don't want to put in place if it's going to cost people more. That's the Labor way. When the Prime Minister goes to India, I wish him well. I do. I hope his trade mission is a success. I know he's going with some high-powered players. I know he's going with Alan Joyce and Andrew Forrest and others. I wish him well in his endeavours, because we do need good trade with India. It's one of our largest trading partners. But when he's talking to India's prime minister, I do need him to remember that those trading relationships are built on trust. And the Prime Minister and the Labor Party have broken that trust with the Australian people.

I also want him to remember that trade is built on jobs and opportunities for businesses that rely on lower power prices. When the Prime Minister said 97 times prior to the election that he was going to give a $275 power bill cut, he didn't mean it. We all know he didn't mean it. He didn't mean it. We knew it wouldn't happen, because that's the Prime Minister's way and that's the Labor way. He leads a party with weasel words. They say something prior to an election and do something else completely once they're elected. They've conned the Australian people yet again. But you know what? The Australian people are wise to it. They know what's happening, and they won't—hopefully—make the same mistake again. They'll remember that $275 broken promise, and they'll make sure that they kick this mob out. That's where Labor belongs—being kicked out.

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