Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

This spits in the face of voters and is not in their best interests. The government is even refusing to put this bill through an inquiry process, which is a standard parliamentary procedure. This should be an absolute necessity for a bill which will dramatically change electoral and policy outcomes for everyone in this country. This bill gives more public funding to parties and incumbents. We're in a cost-of-living crisis. You're all paying each other.

It makes it much harder for new and independent candidates to run election campaigns—and you know that—particularly those that cannot front up large sums to run election campaigns, and you know that too. We don't have mates like Gina. Who do you think those people will be? Gina's mates. And the ones who are grassroots, from the community, those people coming from more diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds? Forget it! Not with Gina's mates here! Not the ones who would actually be more representative of a large share of this country's population. It locks out candidates who would actually fight for country, people, equality and justice, who understand that, while the politicians play games and hoard more power and wealth, people on the ground are starving—starving! Youse are all in your little money pits with all your donors and your mates.

President! President, attention! I'm being heckled here by a well-known, convicted racist.