Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Hansard source

I withdraw. They have actually chosen to bet on the fact that Australians don't vote on character, that Australians don't care about the character of their Prime Minister and their government. That's what they're backing. But I tell you what: Australians love to keep more of their hard-earned cash rather than give it to the government. Every day of the week, Australians, when you ask them that question in a poll, on the street or at an election, will say: 'Thank you. I work pretty hard for my money. I want to keep more of it so I can spend it on the things that my family and I need to spend it on.' So, yes, two-thirds of Australians might think that this is a good idea by the government. But I tell you what 100 per cent of Australians don't like: being lied to. They hate being lied to. And that's exactly what this government has done.

So here we are, the first day of parliament—another day, another broken promise by Anthony Albanese's government, counting on the fact that Australians will forget the betrayal. 'Fake it till you make it' was their proposition heading into the last election. And it turns out they did fake it, they made it and now they've exposed themselves as the absolute fakes that they are because they've betrayed themselves. If they really believed that this was the policy Australians needed, and they really believed that this was the policy that the economics needed to be achieved, then it should have been in MYEFO. It should have been in your budget, but you're too distracted by your own ideology. You say Australians are going to feel it. They're not. They are not buying what you're selling, and if we went to any kitchen table in the country they would know you don't have their backs. They know you've lied to them, and they're going to make you pay. (Time expired)