Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

We had a $6 billion education infrastructure fund, another multibillion-dollar telecommunications fund, and nobody knew where it went—it's all gone. One of the great records of those opposite, driven by their leader, who drips scorn and derision on ordinary people—which is the dark heart of the Labor Party—is that they had a record debt. That was their race to debt—$240 billion in debt. And, let me tell you, at that trajectory, we would have reached a trillion dollars in debt. So I don't particularly like being lectured by those opposite about what sort of a hierarchical place we might have in life.

In every single thing we hear from the other side, you'd reckon that regional and rural Australia didn't even exist. Look at the things we've done for drought relief and at our record investment in infrastructure. We now have 21st century communications. We have doctors and health professionals in the regions. We have the effects test. We have the country-of-origin labelling. We've had decentralisation. We're supporting agricultural industries with tax relief. We're backing the mining, resources and energy industries. We are governing this country. We are governing this country in a much better way than you would ever dream of. So, if there are any crocodile tears about dysfunction because someone's changing leaders and it's not a pretty sight, then those are just crocodile tears. To those people who ask, 'Who is the Prime Minister?' I can assure you it's not the member for Grayndler or Sydney or Blaxland or McMahon or Lindsay, and most importantly it won't be the member for Maribyrnong.