Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Marshall keeps interjecting saying, 'How many? How many?' Obviously size does matter to Senator Marshall because it is of no consequence whatsoever to what happened yesterday. Every single—

Senator Fifield interjecting—

I will take the interjection. Senator Fifield says, 'He's not the only one!' Yesterday, it did not matter if there was one person who turned up. It did not matter if there were 10, 15 or 5,000. Every single one of those Australians had every right to be taken seriously and to have their voice heard. They were not. Not one single member of this government bothered to go and listen. They did not have to stand up there and say anything. They could have simply gone out and listened to the Australian people, but they chose not to.

Isn't it interesting, colleagues. Senator Marshall and others say how dreadful it is that there were not more people. Gosh, how many people were standing on the lawns yesterday supporting a carbon tax? How many people were standing on the lawn in front of Parliament House last week supporting a carbon tax, Senator Cash? How many people have been standing anywhere in this country supporting a carbon tax? Guess what, Senator Marshall? If you have a look—miniscule; hardly any. So don't you dare tell these people, who took time away from their jobs and families at great expense to themselves simply because they wanted to have their voice heard, that you are not going to take any notice of them because there were not more of them, when hardly anybody is supporting the carbon tax.

Senator Marshall interjecting—

You are absolutely obsessed with numbers and size aren't you, Senator Marshall? It is extraordinary, and this from the government—

Senator Marshall interjecting—

You still cannot listen, Senator Marshall. If you are quiet you might learn something. This government still says it supports families. If it truly supported working families, Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her government would have listened to those families yesterday. Senator Marshall, if you had taken the time to go out there and meet those people and talk to them like I and lot of my colleagues on the coalition side did, you would find out that they are not a moaners brigade, as Senator Bob Brown was calling them, and they are not a smorgasbord of whingers. They are down to earth, genuine Australians who care about the future of this country. But you would not know that, Senator Marshall, and neither would your Prime Minister, because you could not be bothered—you are too arrogant. You do not want to listen. If it is something you do not want to listen to, forget it; just ridicule it.

I think it is absolutely appalling that, if this is what the government thinks, that if somebody has a different view and they come to the lawns of Parliament House, the government says, 'Gee, if there is not enough of you we will ridicule that.' What a very, very sad day for this country it was, and it just shows the depth to which this government has fallen. You are inept and you cannot run the country. (Time expired)