Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Here is a good question for the government: what have coalition governments ever really done for Australia? What has this mob done lately for Australians? The same as all coalition governments of the past—nothing but hot air and hollowness, filled with cynicism and pathetic slogans.

In contrast, Labor governments and the labour movement have fought for and introduced: Medicare, which you are trying to bring down; weekends without work; all breaks at work, including your lunchbreak; paid vacations; sick leave; social security; the minimum wage; collective bargaining; employer anti-discrimination laws; the eight-hour work day; overtime pay; child labour laws; occupational safety and health laws; the 38-hour work week; workers' compensation; unemployment insurance; pensions, which you are cutting; workplace safety standards and regulations; employer health-care insurance; collective bargaining rights for employees; wrongful termination laws; sexual harassment laws; disability financial support; holiday pay; privacy rights; pregnancy and parental leave, which you are trying to cut down; military leave; and public education for children. All this mob can do or does is to try and tear down what we have achieved in government—a record of achievement that has introduced policies for the betterment of Australians and all Australia.