Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This Saturday, the voters of Aston in the beautiful eastern suburbs of Melbourne have an important choice at the ballot box when voting in the by-election. This election is a choice between a strong, local voice in government, Mary Doyle, or a blow-in from Brunswick who would be part of a bitter opposition under an angry leader, who, when he does offer something up to the parliament, it is usually just the word no. And in a previous role, it was dangerous, divisive rhetoric and a GP tax.

I think that the good people of Aston deserve better than Peter Dutton. They deserve a representative like Mary, who'll be an excellent advocate for her community and who would be part of a team doing all we can to address cost-of-living pressures. Already we've introduced cheaper medicines and over 5,000 families in Aston will benefit from cheaper child care. We're also building great jobs in the east—great, secure, well-paid jobs through the National Reconstruction Fund—and we're driving skills through fee-free TAFE. We've invested $6 million in a business case for a Caulfield to Rowville Trackless Rapid Transit system.

It's a big choice for Aston on Saturday, and I really hope that we can welcome Mary to Canberra.