Fatima Payman (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Having had to endure the sheer falsehoods in those statements and the accusations as to our government—which has been responsible, from day one, in dealing with the issue in the Middle East and in dealing with every single issue that has arisen—and then having been faced with accusations, one after another, I will just set some records straight and put the facts into the Hansard. There has been no visa application from Leila Khaled. So, to Australians out there listening to this: do not listen to those opposite. They love fearmongering. They thrive on it. When they smell it from a mile away, they will latch onto it. It is not correct.

There is no place for terrorism in this country. We, as the Australian government, will never—I say 'never'—advocate for it or allow anyone to advocate for it. We would not allow anyone like that to come to our country and incite hatred and division and that sort of propaganda. It is unacceptable.

I think those opposite are actually very confused about what they stand for. They have no idea what they stand for. They think they're representing the people of Australia, but they're wrong. They find themselves chasing their own tails, going around in circles, and I feel they get a great sense of relief by running to Sky News and using it as a go-to channel to vent and whinge about issues that they couldn't solve in the last decade.

Instead of offering solutions to the rising cost-of-living pressures, they are committing to undoing the good work that our government is doing. We've heard—I asked the question in question time—that Senator Hume has promised that, if the Liberals and Nations are re-elected, they will go back to the drawing board on tax cuts. They absolutely refuse to believe that the Labor government can be such good economic managers that they are able to provide relief to the 13.6 million Australians who will be receiving a tax cut from 1 July this year. They don't realise that 70,000 taxpayers in Dunkley, who are facing a by-election on Saturday, will be receiving a tax cut.

What do Mr Dutton and those opposite want? They want you to work more for less. They don't want you to keep more of what you earn. They have no plan. They literally have no plan, and all they're good at is fearmongering and creating division amongst us. From the Voice referendum and the questions asked at question time, to the High Court's decision on the NZYQ case and the housing Help to Buy scheme, I don't understand why those opposite can't face the facts and respect them as they are. They just have to conflate issues, and it's absolutely unreal. Perhaps it would be important and useful for those opposite to spend less time on the media and more time on the ground to hear from real Australians about real issues that are impacting their lives.

I want to use my last minute or so to take the opportunity to talk to the people of Dunkley. You have experienced the great loss of the amazing member that you had, Peta Murphy. She was an incredible friend and a great support for me as a first-term senator. She'd met Jodie Belyea through the Women's Spirit Project, a not-for-profit organisation that Jodie had founded. Knowing that Peta handpicked Jodie, I have great confidence in Jodie standing for the people of Dunkley and being a strong advocate and voice here in Canberra for you.

We know that it's going to be close. By-elections are always tough; let's face it. But what we do know is that Jodie, as part of the Albanese Labor government, is going to do what's best for you and put your interests first. A mere example of the tax cuts that we passed last night: a retail worker in Dunkley earning $73,000 a year will get a tax cut of $1,504. That's $804 more than under the Liberals.