Mary Doyle (Aston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What have we learned from yesterday in this House and the other place? It's what we've seen repeatedly from those opposite—voting no to everything this government is doing to assist households. Now, those opposite have done it again, announcing today they'll axe Labor's tax cuts for every taxpayer if elected. Once again, they just say no, and that sums up the Leader of the Opposition's approach for this entire term.

I'd like to remind the Leader of the Opposition of the words he spoke on Insiders the day after I was elected to this House:

So, many lessons, including for me and for our party. And we'll take those, we'll listen to what the people of Aston have said and we'll act on it.

Were those just empty words from the Leader of the Opposition? I think so because the actions of the Leader of the Opposition and his party in voting against every measure that we have brought forward in this parliament to assist the people of Aston mean his words then are ringing hollow now. One thing is certain: past performance is the best indicator of future practice. With the Leader of the Opposition, this is truly the case. The choice is clear at this election: a Labor government that is building on a better future for Australia or a coalition that will just send us all backwards.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the next election, people need only ask themselves one question: are you better off than what you were three years ago? If the answer is no, Labor's failed you. Labor's failed most Australians. They've failed to manage the economy. They've failed to keep us safe. Under Labor, Australians are paying more for food, paying more for their rent and paying more for energy, and the dream of homeownership is slipping away from everyone. We've had the biggest fall in living standards in the developed world, and small-business bankruptcies are at a record high. Labor has squandered the last two surpluses. Even their own budgets reveal 10 years of deficits in the outward years, so not even they believe that things are going to get better under their management.

Are you better off today than you were three years ago? If the answer is yes or no, real-life savings will only come from a Dutton led government reducing the fuel excise by half. Or you can wait for your 70c a day to come in 15 months time. At the next election, ask yourself one thing: am I better off under Labor than I was three years ago? If the answer is no, support a Dutton government.