Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move a motion relating to confidence and the lack thereof in this government.

Leave not granted.

Pursuant to contingent notice of motion, I move:

That so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent me from moving a motion to provide for the consideration of a matter, namely a motion to give precedence to a motion relating to lack of confidence in the government.

I urge the Senate to suspend standing orders so that the Senate can vote on this motion of no confidence in this government. This vote is urgent because no-one can honestly have confidence in this government. We need to put this government out of its misery. This is not just about the text messages; it's because the government cannot keep people safe. It is urgent, because each week 200 people are dying from COVID. For January, that's the highest in the Asia-Pacific region per head of population.

They can't keep people safe from the climate crisis, because they're deliberately making it worse. They can't keep women safe at work, refusing to back all of the recommendations in the safe at work report. We must urgently consider this matter, because the government can't keep people safe from rising inequality. Millions of people are in dangerous insecure work, underpaid, living in unaffordable housing or not having housing at all and struggling to keep their head above water. This is not just about the text messages.

The texts just show what we've all known: these guys are in it for themselves. The Prime Minister would sell out anyone to get ahead, and those texts show that those closest to him know that all too well. During the pandemic, he and this rotten government have undermined the states. They've overseen a crisis in aged care, given false confidence to people and have failed to prepare for life after lockdown. We must urgently suspend standing orders.

Right now, our elders are stuck inside their rooms, and Mr Morrison and Mr Dutton can't agree on how to help. They're fighting for the top job while people drive around trying to find RATs. And, callously, the health minister is claiming that those who have died would have died anyway. This chaos is dangerous, and a fish rots from the head. How can anyone have confidence in this government?

We must consider this urgently, because the government can barely pass legislation. It can't establish an integrity commission. It's too busy to do that one. It's too busy for the Prime Minister to watch Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins speak at the Press Club tomorrow. This government is hanging on by one vote in the House, and it doesn't have the numbers here in the Senate. It can't get real climate action past the National Party. It can't decide whether schools should be allowed to discriminate against LGBTIQ+ kids. It can't even back a wage rise for aged-care workers. All of these issues are putting people's lives at risk. This government cannot keep people safe, and that's exactly why we need to consider this motion of no confidence urgently.

Over the last three summers, people have died because of the failures of this government. People died in climate fuelled bushfires while Mr Morrison went on holiday to Hawaii. He waved coal around in parliament, shouting, 'Don't be scared.' People died in aged-care homes while the responsible minister went to the cricket. In a crisis, in a pandemic, you need clear, honest information from trusted sources. We have been denied that from this government because, as the text messages show, it can't tell the truth. Through the government's trying to take all the credit and push off all the blame, the country has lost all confidence. This Senate chamber must urgently consider this motion because, while the country faced incredible anxiety, stress and uncertainty caused by the global pandemic, the government were more concerned about their own re-election.

We've seen the Prime Minister try to appeal to antivaxxers when it suited him and then lock out sports stars—again, to try to be popular. But we remember what you've said and what you've done, Prime Minister. The people aren't stupid; the polls show that they're onto you. Women don't like being told that they're lucky not to be shot when they speak up. Aged-care residents don't like being told that they were going to die anyway. People who are worried about the climate crisis don't like seeing coal being waved about in parliament. It's not surprising that someone in the cabinet reportedly called him 'a psycho': a man who has a trophy that he awarded himself for stopping the boats full of desperate people seeking safety in Australia, a man who waves coal around in parliament, a man who stands over people to get what he wants. Only a 'horrible, horrible man' could be proud to build a political career on the abuse of honourable people. The former Premier of New South Wales was right; this is a horrible, horrible man.

This government, led by this Prime Minister, cares only about itself. Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull knows that. The President of France knows that. Julia Banks knows that. Even Minister Joyce knows that. The Prime Minister is a bully, he's a bigot, he's a liar and he's a fraud. We must urgently consider this vote of no confidence because the people of this country have lost confidence in him and in the government he purports to lead. This government has had a go. They've failed, and now they've got to go.