Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

At least your scarf's bright. I would probably suggest you sit there and be quiet because, when you talk, you make yourself look silly. So how about you just relax and listen because I'm going to talk about the bill. This is something that is unique because, as I said, we couldn't even get three minutes out of the 'member for Jam Land' on the bill. It is just ridiculous that we can't get the opposition to talk about a bill because they've got nothing to say. The only thing they say now, and that they say consistently, is no. They just oppose everything, because they have no ideas. They talk about getting Australia back on track. Well, let's talk about their record. Let's talk about inflation. It's now a lot less than it was when they were in government. We could talk about rising interest rates. It started under them because, for nine years, they neglected the economy and looked after their mates. They talk about the CFMEU. Let's remember that, for nine years in government, they didn't do a thing. They chased them for having stickers on their helmets and flags up flagpoles but didn't do anything about it. That's because they are an empty, vacuous lot over there that are all talk and no action.

What we did was put together the Future Made in Australia. We actually care about manufacturing jobs. We found problems during COVID, with us being at the end of the line. There were times when people couldn't even get a fridge, a washing machine or plaster to build a home. No wonder we've still got this housing crisis that started back in 2017 that they did nothing about. That was under former prime minister Turnbull. I'm not sure who his deputy was at that time—there were a few at that stage—but that was the first time we started talking about the housing crisis.

So what we've done is be a government that has come in and said, 'We value workers and we value this nation, and we want to build things here.' When it comes to wrapping yourself in a flag, you'll see that lot stand there and talk about our sovereignty and what a great nation this is. But, when it comes to the crunch, Australians know that they will never, ever have Australian working men and women's backs, because they don't. They sat there through their nine years and did nothing on housing, did nothing on Medicare and did nothing on superannuation. They tried to destroy the NDIS and created a headache that we are cleaning up again. They did nothing on lifting workers' wages. In fact, remember they said that low wages were a strategic part of their policies and programs.

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