Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thought that this was a debate about health and education, but I heard Labor speakers, particularly Senator O'Neill, talking totally about tax. I find it surprising that Senator O'Neill would. I thought, perhaps, that if she were going to talk about tax she would talk about Labor's proposal for negative gearing, because she would know all about that.

Senator O'Neill spent most of her time attacking the big end of town, the very wealthy, but then we look at today's front page of The Australian and find that Senator O'Neill is part of the big end of town. She not only owns her own house but has five investment properties. Talk about big end of town! You see it in the Labor Party all the time. Their hypocrisy is breathtaking. Senator O'Neill, I have no objection to you having investment properties, and I know you've probably worked hard for them, but don't blame others for the faults of yourself and people in your position. Senator O'Neill, I'm very pleased to see that one of your investment properties is up my way, in the wonderful Cairns suburb of Yorkeys Knob. Only the wealthy can buy there.

I repeat what is now part of the Australian lexicon: Labor lies. Regrettably, you've just heard a lot of the Labor lies from my good friend Senator Ketter. He said that the Caboolture Hospital lost money, which is an outright, outrageous, direct untruth. The Caboolture Hospital is documented to be receiving more money than it has received in the past.

Similarly, talking about the electorate of Longman, because of the government's childcare policy there are 7,100 families in the electorate of Longman—part of the one million families across the country—who will get a benefit from the government's new childcare policy.

Senator Ketter says certain schools are going to lose money. I challenge him, and any one of those schools, to show what they are getting today and what they will get under the coalition government's new reforms, where all of those schools that Senator Ketter mentioned will receive more funding than they're getting at the moment.

I'm delighted that Senator Ketter mentioned Longman, because I'm so proud of our candidate there, 'Big Trev Ruthenberg'. 'Big Trev' is a man of the people. He understands the people there. I know that my colleague Senator O'Sullivan has been with him for quite some time. I've been up there. He understands. He listens to people. He doesn't go around telling lies. He has exposed the Labor allegation about the Caboolture Hospital for the lie that it is. The Caboolture Hospital is now getting more money than it has ever got before. Where Senator Ketter gets his fantasy tales from I have no idea.

I think what Senator Ketter and many Labor people do is say what Labor promises they're going to deliver to these people—I don't know when, as they're not in government, or how they're going to deliver these increases—and then work back from there. But if you go on the actual facts of what hospitals in Longman are getting today and what it will be under our proposals it will be much more than they've received ever in the past. The same goes for child care—

Senator O'Sullivan interjecting—

They are panicking, Senator O'Sullivan, you are quite correct. They know that in Trevor Ruthenberg the people of Longman have an outstanding candidate—one who's honest, who will listen to them and who hasn't denied the people of Caboolture.

She's been working in that seat and taking her pay for months—even years—when she knew she wasn't entitled to that pay. She knew from the very first time this citizenship issue arose that she was not eligible to sit in the Australian parliament and yet she continued to stay there, taking a handout, taking the taxpayers' money for wages and election support and taking allowances when she knew she wasn't entitled to them—

Senator O'Sullivan interjecting—

Again, as my friend and colleague Senator O'Sullivan said, she did this with the full knowledge of the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bill Shorten. Mr Shorten went around Australia promising everybody that all of his team, including the member for Longman, were hunky-dory. No problem with the citizenship of this person and yet the member for Longman herself knew that she was not entitled to be receiving her pay cheque, she was not entitled to the allowances she was getting and she was not entitled to be down here pretending to represent the people of Longman.

With 'Big Trev Ruthenberg', that will change. He is an absolutely outstanding candidate—a man of the people. A man who's proved his worth to his community with the charitable works he's done all of his life and with the way he has helped people—real people—without thought of reward for himself. He is the sort of person that the people of Caboolture, of Bribie Island and of every other part of Longman need to represent them honestly and fairly in the federal parliament. I look forward to the day when he is sworn in to do exactly that.