Dana Wortley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Those on the opposite benches must be desperate—desperate to try and gain some credibility, desperate because they do not have policies of their own. They sit there making groundless criticisms of the government’s policies, but behind those smug looks are ingrained the words ‘If only. If only we had done the right thing. If only we had done the right thing on climate change, the right thing on ratifying the Kyoto protocol—if only.’ But what did they do? They shied away, they denied, they put their heads in the sand. If only they had done the right thing on skilled migrants and the 457 visas, on immigration laws, on the ‘children overboard’ saga. If only they had done the right thing on education—primary, secondary and university. If only they had not blundered their way through 18 failed broadband plans. If only they had not stripped away the rights and conditions of Australian workers. Once again, we get back to the important issues of the Kyoto protocol, climate change, workers and Australian families. If only they had acknowledged the pain the past holds for our Indigenous people and apologised for the past injustices. If only they had given more—