Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

This motion says everything about this government. In fact, I would suggest that it was probably drafted in the Prime Minister's office. What is masquerading as a motion to acknowledge Victoria and support Victoria is actually about sticking the political knife into the Victorian government and attacking them. This is exactly how this government have behaved through this pandemic. On the one hand they say, 'We're all in this together and we're all working as a nation', and then, at the first opportunity, they start picking people off, state by state, where it doesn't politically suit them. We are not in a position to support this motion because of that. I note, for example, it doesn't include the more than 685 people who have died in aged care while this government was asleep. Where's that in this motion? Absolutely nowhere!

Honourable senators interjecting—