Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Medicare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister confirm that he's dealing with One Nation so that an investment banker in a harbour-side mansion earning a million dollars will get a tax cut of $7,000, but a nurse in Caboolture will get a tax cut of only $10 a week? Is this why this arrogant and out-of-touch Prime Minister is telling working Australians who are doing it tough to 'just get a better job'?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was very pleased to meet today a leadership group from Ballarat. They were here; they come here every year. They're inspiring people. They're in the gallery. Good on you! Great to see you! These young men and women came here, as part of their leadership program, to learn about the importance of leadership and values. I can't say how disappointed they would be to hear their federal member misrepresent what was said in this House, because they know very well that what leaders do is to tell the truth, and what the honourable member did was to not tell the truth, and she knows that.

The only party in this place that believes it knows better than workers, whatever their occupation and whatever their pay scale, is the Labor Party. We know that our job is to enable Australians to do their best—to dream their dreams and do all they can to realise them; to aspire as they wish and work hard to meet and reach those aspirations. The only people for whom aspiration is a mystery, the only people who want to keep 60-year-olds in their place and think that they're too old to earn more money or get a promotion or do anything else, are these smart young men and women on the Labor side. Let me tell you: I reckon the young leaders from Ballarat have got more integrity and more character than has been shown by their federal member today.