Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When the Treasurer of New South Wales rises to her feet in the state parliament today, she will not have very many kind words to say about this government, because this is the government that is cutting billions of dollars out of schools and hospitals in New South Wales, and their state colleagues are on to them. We have seen in a leaked copy of the federation green paper that, on top of the cuts from last year's budget, this government is proposing to dump another $70 billion worth of cuts in public hospital funding over the next three years.

I dare every one of these coalition members to use the winter recess to go out to their electorates and campaign on the cruel cuts to education and hospitals that their Treasurer and their Prime Minister are visiting upon their electorates. And we know they will not, because they are absolute lions when they go to their electorate but lambs here where it matters in parliament and lambs in their caucus and party room. Not one of them will stand up to the Treasurer and the Prime Minister and say: 'These cuts are against the interests of my electors. They are a breach of our election promise.' At least we have one or two state premiers who are willing to do it, but where are these people who have been elected to stand up for their electorate? They are missing in action. (Time expired)