Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I've been in this place just over 10 years, and I know some very strange things can happen in politics. But the idea that, by the end of the week, Mr Dutton could be Prime Minister of Australia is one of the most bizarre things I've heard. Yet this is a reality. Despite the howls of denial from those opposite and the casual dismissals from government frontbenchers on morning radio, we all know that the leadership tensions among those opposite are very, very real. We can summarise the situation in two simple words—it's on. While Mr Turnbull should be focused on improving the lives of Australians, he is instead looking over his shoulder, his attention focused on saving his own job as Prime Minister. Ironically, this is a situation that has been brought about by Mr Turnbull's own inaction and indecision on a number of issues.

When a government starts to focus in on itself, good policy and, in turn, the Australian people suffer as a result. A case in point is the National Energy Guarantee. We're still trying to figure out where Mr Turnbull and the rest of the government really stand on their own NEG. We've had the bizarre spectacle of Mr Turnbull declaring a victory in his own party room, followed by government MPs announcing their own energy plans—threatening to cross the floor—and the threats of a leadership challenge. It only took three days, since claiming that a legislated emissions target was non-negotiable, for the Prime Minister to do a spectacular backflip and announce the target would be in regulation instead. Now we've learned that the legislation has been pulled entirely, because Mr Turnbull couldn't guarantee he could get it through the House of Representatives. Clearly, Mr Turnbull is in panic mode, and he's making policy on the run—policy that's guided by what he can do to save his own political skin, not by what would be in the best interests of Australians and what would be in the best interests of Australia's energy consumers or the environment.

We find the government is also introducing regional price hikes for broadband and a new tax on other providers, because of the failure of Mr Turnbull's second-rate copper network to deliver revenue, and Mr Turnbull is still struggling to convince the Senate crossbench of the merits of his multibillion-dollar big business tax giveaway. For what it's worth—very little in our view—this tax cut is meant to be the government's signature economic policy. So what is their economic policy if it fails to pass the Senate? On policy after policy after policy, we see the Prime Minister beating a hasty retreat. His credibility is in tatters.

The Australian public must be scratching their heads wondering what, if anything, Mr Turnbull really stands for right now. At the same time they must also be wondering, 'If Mr Dutton is the answer then we have to ask: what is the question?' Do those opposite seriously want to give the leadership to the former health minister who introduced the GP tax and who slashed billions of dollars from hospitals in the Abbott government's horror 2014 budget? Mr Abbott told a meeting of young Liberals in Tasmania just on the weekend that he was looking forward to serving in a Dutton Liberal government. Is this a sign that, if Mr Dutton is successful with his challenge, Mr Abbott could make a return to the frontbench? How much influence would Mr Abbott and the conservative politics that he represents have on any Dutton government? The Australian public and the Liberal Party themselves rejected Mr Abbott several years ago, but, should Mr Dutton be successful in his bid for the leadership, we know that Mr Abbott would be the de facto Prime Minister—that he would be the puppeteer pulling Mr Dutton's strings.

I have a little bit of advice for Mr Turnbull, and I'll give it to him for free. If he wants to fend off a leadership challenge, there's a simple way to do it: let the Australian people decide. Call an election. Call it now. Regardless of who is victorious in this leadership spill—and trust me: the leadership spill will happen—whether it's Mr Dutton or Mr Turnbull who wins, or maybe some unexpected third candidate—who would know with those opposite?—the chaos, the dysfunction and the division in this government will continue.

There's only really one way that this farce will end, and that's a federal election. The Australian people are relishing the opportunity to put this government out of its miserable existence. They know that a Shorten Labor government will be ready to hit the ground running with a set of policies that put Australian people front and centre. Unlike those opposite, we are united and we are ready to govern in the interests of all Australians.