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

What was noteworthy not only in the questions asked by Senator Abetz and Senator Brandis but in all opposition questions in question time today was the absence of this opposition's use of question time—today is the last available question time—to present any sensible alternative. Instead, we saw the slurs and the innuendo of which we are accused.

Let me give you a few examples from some of the commentary in question time today. It was said that we on this side are motivated solely by our own self-interest and that we have no values. There were derogatory references to the word 'mate'. I wonder sometimes whether senators on the other side of the chamber understand how their commentary looks. I really do wonder if they see how their presentation appears to everyday people that deserve better from both a government and an opposition.

Certainly there has been division in the Labor Party. There is no question about that. And that has now been settled. The issue of the leadership of the Labor Party has been settled, will remain settled and will remain clear. We will now be solely focused on the needs of Australians, unlike those on the other side who carp and carry on.

Senator Abetz interjecting—

Senator Abetz just highlighted, 'It's all about revenge and knives and axe attacks,' but he holds up a glossy, vacuous 50-page document. Mr Abbott has been holding it up for months. What is more notable about that document is not so much what it says but what it does not say. And there are countless policy areas that we could go through in that regard.

Instead, we know what the Labor government says. We know what we can do better. Senator Abetz claims that we could not talk about what policy needs to be changed or what would be different. What we do know very clearly is that we can and do need to make a clearer message. We need to develop policy and promote it better. We understand that that is something that we can do in the interests of Australians as we focus on their needs so that we can better deliver what has already been delivered in terms of a strong economy—a triple-A rating of our economy—and protecting jobs in ways this opposition never would have.

We have promoted education and achieved consensus in disability care and generally in education as well. We have improved superannuation for Australians. These are things this opposition would never do. We will confront this election with a very stark difference. The vacuum of policy from those on the other side—the failure to present an alternative government—was demonstrated in question time today. There was no alternative government presented from the other side. They are incapable of doing it. They could not even receive a compliment for a departing senator without interrupting it. They have problems amongst their own colleagues which I was very sorry to see.

The policy position from this opposition is not just about the fact that Mr Abbott continues to say no. It is about the failure to develop sensible, reasonable positions that will preserve the needs and the interests of the Australian people. That is where as a government we have a clear track record. We can acknowledge the global circumstances we have been in. We can protect Australians jobs and the Australian economy. We can improve our education system. We can improve the treatment of people with disability in this country in a way in which our resources show we should. These are all things that we can do, and we can do them in a way which achieves consensus amongst the Australian people to improve things we know we can do better.

There is no question that in a range of policy areas we can, and do, need to improve how we reach people. We need to improve the message we give Australian people about our values and why we are the Australian Labor Party.

Senator Brandis interjecting—

The other side says things like what Senator Brandis is saying right now: 'You are us.' He is glib and very funny—not really!