Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to take note of answers to opposition questions in question time. First, I want to say that how we talk about issues in national security matters. How we talk about issues, particularly operational issues, matters. The way you talk about these things impacts national security. What I think we've seen this question time—indeed, consistent with what we've seen over the past few months from the opposition—is that there really is no issue in national security on which they don't seek to have a political advantage. There is no issue in national security that they don't see as an opportunity to further the ambition of the Leader of the Opposition in the other place.

We have seen this playbook from the opposition before. We have seen this playbook which seeks to divide our country and not to bring it together. We have seen the playbook which seeks to stoke fear, which seeks to stoke division, which seeks political advantage from issues affecting our national security and from operational issues related to our national security. We've seen it before. We've seen it when they have been in government; we are seeing it now they're in opposition.

There is absolutely nothing in that kind of division and fear stoking which helps our country. That aggression, that division, that fear which the opposition strives to put into the heart of our political discourse at the moment does nothing to help our country. It does nothing to keep our country more safe. In fact, it does the opposite, because we know that breakdown in social cohesion when divisions are stoked affects our national security. Our security agencies would affirm that.

The political playbook here of division, of fear, of seeking advantage and political gain from national security is abhorrent. The way we talk about things matters, and this question time is reflective of everything we've seen in the last few months on these matters. In fact, the only place the opposition's not willing to talk about national security issues, not willing to talk about the global conflicts around us, not willing to talk about all the external events facing our country at the moment is when it comes to inflation. We saw that again today. You can use these issues to stoke fear and division, but when we're talking about inflation and the biggest financial pressures facing Australian people at the moment: 'Oh, these issues don't matter. They're completely irrelevant.' It's as transparent as glass.

The fact is inflation and cost-of-living pressures are huge issues in our community at the moment. No-one on this side denies that—that's why they're our No. 1 priority and focus as a government. We are investing billions of dollars in cost-of-living relief. We're deliberately doing it in a way which seeks to not add further pressures to inflation because we know acutely—we know in our communities, the people we represent, the people we talk to—that inflation most hurts those doing it tough. We are acutely aware of that.

We have a 10-point plan for cost-of-living relief measures, many of which the opposition walked into this place and didn't vote for. They walked into this place and saw cost-of-living relief on the table, shook their heads and said, 'No, we don't want a part of that,' and walked back out again. And now they come in here complaining about our work as a government to take action on these issues. Electricity bill relief, cheaper child care, increasing rental assistance, income support payment increases, fee-free TAFE, building more affordable houses for people, extending paid parental leave, cheaper medicines, halving the cost of medicines for some people in this country: these are the sorts of things which those opposite can't bring themselves to support. But they are the sorts of things which make a real difference in people's lives. And we know that if we hadn't acted on these things, what is a very difficult and trying situation with inflation would be even worse. That is a fact.

Cost of living is absolutely our priority as a government. It's our priority because we know it is affecting Australians right around the country, Australians who depend on their government to take these matters seriously, to prioritise them, just as they depend on us to do the same for national security—not to politicise it; not to focus on division and obstruction and dividing us, but to bring us together with actions and plans which will make a difference.