Matt Keogh (Burt, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Our nation is suffering a failure of leadership, a lack of real leadership at all. Through this pandemic, the Morrison government has been no friend to Western Australia, continually attacking Premier Mark McGowan at every opportunity. He backed Clive Palmer in order to bring down the WA border and then he tried to deny it. This is the Prime Minister for New South Wales, not a Prime Minister for our entire nation. The Prime Minister even called Western Australians cave people for living safely without COVID.

Now the Prime Minister can't even bring himself to lead against attempts to undermine our democracy. After the murders of Jo Cox and Sir David Amess in the UK, after insurrection at the US Capitol, also not called out by the Prime Minister, and after he and his Treasurer have spent the last 18 months attacking state premiers who are doing the right thing to protect their communities, Prime Minister Morrison has failed to show the leadership that our nation needs. In the face of threats of violence towards premiers, MPs and their families, and death and rape threats to the WA Premier's staff, the Prime Minister continues to refuse to unreservedly condemn such behaviour.

WA needs a federal government that will work with it. Australia needs a federal government that will stand up for our democracy and keep us safe and secure. Only an Albanese Labor government will be the partner that WA needs here in Canberra. Only Labor will stand up for WA.