Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

They can interject all they like, but they will not answer the question: will the coalition campaign for a yes vote in the local government referendum? If any imputation was made, it was made in reference to the expert panel, which made certain recommendations as to how the referendum ought to be conducted.

However, the fact of the matter is we want the referendum to be put at the time of the election, and we need the legislation to go through to enable that to occur. Again, I can tell you I was at the Australian Local Government Association national conference last week, and the Local Government Association would be furious with the parliament if it behaved in such a manner that the legislation was not dealt with and therefore the referendum was unable to proceed.

Let's get back to the realities of the community. The community has certain expectations. The education community throughout Australia wants an answer, a definitive outcome, on Gonski. They would never forgive this parliament for getting up before an election and not providing this. Why does the coalition want to frustrate and stop Gonski going through? It is because after this election it will be the law, and anyone who does not like it will have to try to repeal it. That is why they are in this position—they do not want it to become the law because they would then be in the situation where they were the ones taking away money from education around Australia. The community is not going to think very kindly of a coalition, should they find themselves in government, trying to repeal Gonski. We are going to get it through.

Exactly the same goes for aged care. I want to see these reforms go through for aged care. I doubt that you would find a person on the street who did not want to see the package of aged-care reforms go through this parliament. We have an ageing population, and the community at large wants to see aged-care reform through this parliament, and so do I. we also want to see the relief to 38,000 small businesses, restaurants and cafes, who generate more than $29 billion per annum. The legislation before the parliament allows them to be exempted from having to print separate weekend menus.

We have heard all about getting rid of regulatory pressure. This is actually in this package of bills. The coalition, if they have their way, will not allow it to be treated as non-controversial. They would rather see it lapse than be dealt with. Well, I would not. I want to see it dealt with. I want to see all this legislation dealt with before the election so people around the country have a new set of legislative provisions that give them some certainty.

After the election, I can assure you that the Greens will be standing here strongly stopping the repeal of Gonski and stopping the repeal of any aged-care reforms or whistleblower legislation, because these are things that benefit the community in a very substantial way. Just because the Leader of the Opposition does not support more money going into Australian education through the Gonski reforms, that does not mean that the broader community shares that view. I am determined we will see this passed. I am convinced that the right thing to do here for the community is to deliver for them the legislation they have been waiting for for a considerable amount of time.