Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Feeney might think I am being unkind, but if that is the best defence he can make, it is a challenge for this government for them to break their promises. Senator Feeney is the man who was the architect of a successful South Australian Labor Party election after which the Treasurer said to the opposition, ‘You don’t have the character to break your promises’ as he reneged on promise after promise after promise that was put forward during the campaign. The dirty fingerprints of the Sussex Street mob and their comrades right around Australia are at work in this government, and we have a Prime Minister who said and did anything that she was told to say and do by the faceless factional men of which Senator Feeney is one.

Unfortunately, they carried it off, but they have carried it off to the detriment of the Australian people. Now, the Australian people are going to face electricity hikes, price hikes of 50 per cent or more, because of the unholy alliance that has been created between the Greens and the left of the Labor Party. Make no mistake, the left are on the march in the Labor Party. Whilst it may be the right wing that control the numbers, the left are getting the spoils. They are having influence in the policy, because that is where Julia Gillard is taking them. It is a problem for Australia. Not only will families suffer because we have a government that does not care about families—it only cares about taxes and being able to spend taxpayers’ money flippantly—but we also know that this is a government that does not hold to high standards of ministerial accountability. If there is a truth teller in the government’s ministerial ranks—and I will not besmirch him—it is Minister Garrett. Remember, Minister Garrett, before the 2007 election, said, ‘It’s all right; we’ll change it all when we get in.’ He was the only man to tell the truth. What has his reward been for getting in and changing policies, destroying houses and placing people’s lives in jeopardy? Was there any accountability for it? No. Was there any demotion for it? No. What has actually happened? He has maintained his ministerial rank, and one can only surmise that he has greenmailed the government—just like the Greens party he has greenmailed the Prime Minister—to keep his spot in cabinet.

This is a great tragedy, because we have a government that are only interested in power for power’s sake. They are not governing for the important long-term benefits for the country. They are not governing for the restoration of some fiscal sanity into our national accounts. It is not for restoring some faith in the parliamentary process. They promised sweetness and light and transparency—operation sunlight. They promised a whole range of reforms, but they cannot deliver on any of them because they do not really want to deliver on them. The problem we have is that in their platitudes, in their soothsaying and in their prepared speech that they gave to the Governor-General yesterday—which really did not outline a national vision—they have said, ‘We’re not fair dinkum.’ They have broken their promise to the Australian people. The Prime Minister, halfway through an election campaign, ruled out a carbon tax and a few weeks later brought it back in. She said that she had changed her mind on immigration and detention policies for people coming here and for offshore processing, and yet got in and has not put serious effort into honouring her commitment. She has a part-time foreign minister representing Australia’s international interests. He is part-time because he is also working for the climate change committee of the United Nations—on a road down which he nearly sent us. This is a government that really have no idea what their intention is and where they are going. It is a great disappointment to me that this government is in power, and I know it is a great disappointment to the Australian people. It is a government that will not come clean with the Australian people. They will say and do anything to keep in power, and the Australian people will come to and recognise that.