Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am nearly speechless after that diatribe of completely unfactual rubbish. What a load of rubbish! In response to the matter of public importance today, I would like to make it very clear, particularly for those opposite, who seem to live in some sort of alternative history paradise, that the Australian people understand that the Rudd government has been delivering and will continue to deliver. It is doing that knowing that those sitting opposite could not and did not deliver in 11 years of government—11 years! The blatant hypocrisy of those opposite is astounding, especially with regard to the MPI for today.

When I read what the MPI was for today, I was instantly reminded of John Howard’s promise of the never, ever GST. In fact, one of the things that I think I will best remember—and a lot of other people will too—about the Howard government is the notion of ‘core’ and ‘non-core’ promises, non-core promises being the kind that you do not have to keep.

A classic example of this—and there were many quotes, but I have limited time today—was the doorstop interview of 2 May 1995 with John Howard and a journalist.

Journalist: So you’ve left the door open for a GST now, haven’t you?

Howard: No, there’s no way that a GST will ever be part of our policy.

Journalist: Never ever?

Howard: Never ever. It’s dead. It was killed by the voters at the last election.

It makes you wonder, doesn’t it? It also makes you wonder about Mr Abbott’s ‘Work Choices is dead’ comments too. I do not think that has actually been a promise, but it does make us wonder.

Let us not forget John Howard’s promise that he would keep interest rates at all-time lows. History, of course, tells us a very different story there. In fact, so arrogant and out of touch were he and his government that he said Australian families had never had it better. Obviously, Australian families did not agree with him, did they?

Let us put this into perspective. The Rudd government have been governing since November 2007 and already we have delivered on many of our worthwhile election promises, some of which I intend to outline—