Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

Indeed, Senator Brandis, I am quite happy to follow that contribution because, of course, this opposition’s unfounded accusations occurred earlier in today’s debate on the Governor-General’s speech. The ideological raves that have just occurred in question time, the unfounded accusations and attacks on the standing of the Governor-General, cannot be allowed to go unchallenged. Anybody listening to today’s question time would have seen it deteriorate even further after Senator McGauran’s contribution just now. He talks about a list of falsehoods. He talks about the same-old, same-old and he talks about the spin. Yet what we have seen is just sheer blatant scaremongering, again. During question time I had sent down to me a copy of the Labor Party-Greens agreement. Let us look at the provisions in that which pertain to policy, just so we can deal with the facts. The first issue of policy is indeed climate change, and let me read it for the record:

That Australia must tackle climate change and that reducing carbon pollution by 2020 will require a price on carbon. Therefore the parties agree to form a well resourced Climate Change Committee.

The other major issue of policy that is in the agreement—and the only other major issue of policy that is in this agreement—is on dental care. So where is this scaremongering really taking us? It is taking us to this coalition-opposition trying to conceal the debacle of their lack of policies and their very poor costings in the lead-up to the election. We are accused of a lack of transparency. I think Senator Abetz during question time challenged me as to whether I had read any of the red book. Under freedom of information we did make available the red book, but what is more interesting is what is outlined in the blue book. In terms of pressures on the future and cost of living issues of Australians, the blue book is very interesting. Firstly, on the point of transparency, let me show you an example of one critical page of the blue book, and I hold it up for you to see.

My, my, what is blank? What have the opposition blanked out before they released this to the press gallery? What likely sensitivities have they blanked out in their paid parental leave policy? They have blacked out the likely implications for the very few people that would actually benefit other than very high income families. Secondly, they have blacked out the cost implications of this extraordinarily extravagant scheme. And, thirdly, they have probably blacked out the impact of the 1.5 per cent levy or tax that the opposition were proposing to impost on Australian large businesses. That would be my guess of what is blacked out, but the opposition talked about transparency. Here, there is no transparency at all.

This was the key policy area of the opposition leader, Mr Abbott. He had this fantastic policy to show that he related well to women and that he was a sensitive new-age guy. When you look at the recklessness involved, the National Party—coalition members—would never have supported it. Had the Liberal Party made government, they would never have supported it. It was simply a fraud. People wonder why Tony Abbott has captured the phrase ‘the gospel truth’. This was a fraud.