Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

No wonder Senator Macdonald wants to interject, because he knows that what he has said goes to the heart of the problems with this government.

It is not just about what Senator Macdonald says; it is about the issues that it splits wide open—No. 1: the opposition and division in this government. There is division in this government over the attacks on ordinary working Australians, and now some of them are beginning to realise that you just cannot assault ordinary Australians, day in and day out, without repercussions. I think Senator Macdonald is picking up on that point.

Senator Macdonald goes on to say that, rather than hike the petrol tax, the government should abandon the Paid Parental Leave scheme—the Paid Parental Leave scheme that is going to cost $5.5 billion and which will give benefits to some of the wealthiest people in this country.

What this government does is to lie to the Australian people—and now we have Senator Macdonald exposing the lies. We have Senator Macdonald joining with the Labor Party to expose the lies. We see the lies laid bare. So we see that this government cannot be trusted. It cannot be trusted on anything it says. It cannot be trusted whenever it makes a promise. It cannot be trusted when it comes and says anything in parliament because this is a government that has been brought to power based on lies, and it is a government that continues to lie. So the issues are about lies and the issues are about trust. It is a government that cannot be trusted. It is a government that lied its way to power, and it is a government that continues to lie—'untrustworthy' is the word. (Time expired)