Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

Whether it is Mr Abbott or Mr Turnbull, Australians know that what they say before an election will be very different if they are re-elected. They said before the last election that there would be no cuts to education and no cuts to health. That was untrue. They said there would be no new taxes, and what have we seen? We have seen, time and time again—and it really does not matter whether it was Mr Abbott, when he was Prime Minister, or Mr Turnbull now—that they cannot be trusted. They are running scared and running away.

They spent all this money bringing us back to parliament for two days, and what have they done? They guillotined debate on a bill that was introduced yesterday and passed last night. They did not give each and every one of us senators the opportunity to contribute to the debate. That is the very least you should expect when you come into this chamber. When there is proposed legislation before this chamber, you have a right to make a contribution, but they guillotined the debate because all they wanted to do was spend taxpayers' money to recall parliament so that their Prime Minister could call a double dissolution of the parliament. I say: bring that election on, but let us make sure that there is some real honesty in this campaign.

This Prime Minister may say that he is nimble and agile, but we know he is not a truthful Prime Minister. If he was, he would have been up-front with the Australian community. When he wanted to extend the GST to fresh food—in fact, extend it to everything—and increase it from 10 per cent to 15 per cent, he was not being honest, but he did get the message, because the Australian people and those on this side of the chamber said, 'We will never support a GST on everything; we will never support an increase to 15 per cent.' If you want to talk about taxation and have a thought bubble every other day, that is fine, but you will be judged on that by the Australian community. They will judge you.

I would not get too self-assured if I were sitting on that side of the chamber, because we know the Australian people are smart. They will make their judgement. Of course those on the other side go into this election as frontrunners—they certainly do—but just be prepared. You will have to explain your policies in far more detail than you did at the last election. You will not get away with the hollow promises that you made that there will be no new taxes, no cuts to education and no cuts to health. You ran away from Gonski funding in years 5 and 6. You have betrayed the Australian people, and I think it may well be once too often. (Time expired)