Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy President. What I was attempting to say is that the opposition are playing politics with not only this issue but the issue of pensions. I think senators opposite know that is exactly what I was attempting to say. They are playing politics with the pension issue. They did not do anything in the 11½ years they were in government—actually, that is not true; they voted against it in the cabinet. I am not sure how many people raised it in their caucus but they did vote against a rise in their cabinet.

The Rudd Labor government is trying to give some relief to those Australians who are caught up in the system and the Liberal Party is playing politics. You have to ask yourself why they hate working families. Why do they not want to support a tax cut? If the Leader of the Opposition really believed in a bipartisan approach to economic responsibility, he would join us in the Senate. We have listened to what stakeholders and senators have to say and we have— (Time expired)