James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

Sometimes I wonder what planet these Labor ministers are on when I sit here and listen to their answers, and today was another case in point where the waffling and the wittering from the government frontbenchers should prove to all Australians that the government that sits in Canberra is a government that is not in tune with the cost-of-living crisis that is hitting Australians every day of the week.

This point came home with a particular answer. Senator O'Sullivan asked the Minister representing the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government a question about the CFMEU and the impact of that corrupt union—that lawless union—on infrastructure projects across Australia. One part of the question that Senator O'Sullivan asked of the minister was:

Australians are being forced to drive on unsafe and potholed roads which have missed out on funding because of project cost blowouts.

And projects have blown out in cost because of the impact of the CFMEU. If you drive on a road in Australia at the moment and it's full of potholes, part of the reason is the impact of the CFMEU.

Only last week, I drove out to Roma to meet with the Maranoa Regional Council, and I was very fortunate to also participate in what I think was National Scone Day with the CWA in Roma and also the CWA in Jackson. I caught up with the entire council and also the state member, Ann Leahy. The roads from South East Queensland to South West Queensland are basically held together by potholes, and part of the reason for that is the CFMEU. But, lo and behold, the minister said words to the effect of, 'These potholes are because of the war in Ukraine.' How about that? Apparently, President Putin is responsible for every pothole in Australia. So, if you hit a pothole, it is because of President Putin and the war in Ukraine; it has nothing to do with the lawlessness, the thuggery and the general nastiness of the CFMEU and how they have impacted projects across Australia.

This goes back to the waffling and the wittering that we see from Labor frontbenchers. They don't drive on the roads in Australia. We have a Deputy Prime Minister who is very, very good at jumping on government jets with his golf clubs and flying all around Australia. Of course, we are not allowed to get the information about these flights. Senator Wong, we would love to know the details of these flights. But, since Labor have come into power, the details of these jet flights are being kept secret. This just shows how out of touch Labor are. They won't tell you where they are flying but they also won't drive on the roads that are being held together by these potholes. This shows that they just don't get it.

We have a weak Prime Minister who promised 97 times before the last election that he would cut electricity bills by $275. I will bet you a day's production of Bundaberg rum that there is no way a minister in this chamber will ever say $275 in the context of cutting power bills—because everyone's power bills have gone up. I say to people sitting on their tractors or to the people at home listening to the radio or watching this on TV because nothing else is on: just think about your power bills and ask yourselves whether they have gone up or gone down. I will bet you another day's production of Bundaberg rum that your power bills have gone up under this Labor government. But it is not just your power bills; it is the cost of food and the cost of insurance, for example. Everything in Australia has gone up. Why has it gone up? It is not because of a war in Europe; it is because of the additional money that this Labor government is pumping into the economy. It is the $315 billion of additional spending that is driving up the cost of everything. So, if your wallet is hurting or your purse is hurting, it is because you have a Labor government in Canberra being led by a weak Prime Minister who has a cabinet table full of woeful, wittering and waffling ministers.

Question agreed to.