Sally Sitou (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition has had all summer to think up something to help families with the cost of living, because he's opposed all the measures we've introduced—opposed $300 energy bill relief, opposed tax cuts for all Australians and opposed cheaper medicines. So what is his bright idea to help ordinary Australians? Colleagues, it's a doozy. His bright idea is to get workers to help pay for their bosses' lunch—a policy as out of touch as it is reckless, costing the budget between $1.6 billion and $10 billion a year.

Those opposite are famous for saying, 'If you don't pay for it, you don't value it.' So what does the Leader of the Opposition value? It certainly isn't Medicare, because when he was health minister he gutted Medicare and tried to introduce a GP tax. It certainly isn't workers, because let's remember that those opposite had low wages as a deliberate design feature of their policies. So what does he value? Workers paying for bosses to take long lunches. The Leader of the Opposition was out of touch and reckless as health minister; he continues to be out of touch and reckless and he should never lead this country.