Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The President has received the following letter from Senator Moore:

Pursuant to standing order 75, I propose that the following matter of public importance be submitted to the Senate for discussion:

'The Prime Minister's failed leadership.'

Is the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

I understand that informal arrangements have been made to allocate specific times to each of the speakers in today's debate. With the concurrence of the Senate, I shall ask the clerks to set the clock accordingly.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the matter of public importance. You only have to look at the title to know what is happening this week and put it in context: this Prime Minister, his leadership, has been an abject failure. The Prime Minister has consistently failed the Australian people over the last two years, during which this shambolic excuse for a government has been in office. It goes back to the disaster that was the 2014-15 budget, which is still with us today as the government continuously tries to reintroduce and pass some of those savage and unfair measures that have been rejected by this parliament numerous times. The coalition, the Prime Minister, just does not get it.

One of the first acts of this government was to bring down a budget that was inherently unfair, full of cuts and wrong priorities. The last two years of Mr Abbott's leadership have been littered with failure, broken promises and bad calls. There was the introduction of the $100,000 university degree, through which Mr Abbott planned to deregulate fees. There was not a word before the election about that one. There were cuts to the ABC and SBS, which he made a point of saying he would not cut funding to. But, lo and behold, we find out after the election that that is exactly what he went about doing. There were cuts to the pension, leaving pensioners who are struggling with less in their pockets.

The government has also tried to force young people to live on nothing for six months which, thankfully, was rejected by this parliament. Just a week ago Mr Abbott tried to pass the same unfair bill but tried to drop it to a month, to see if they could get by with a month. Thank goodness that was also rejected. Their persistence and commitment to unfair policies that hurt those students who can least afford it is impressive if not shameful. Not only were these measures rejected by the parliament, they were also broken promises. Mr Abbott specifically promised not to do the very things that he has tried to do in his first unfair budget.

We saw a $30 billion cut to education and a $50 billion cut to health and hospital services. In doing this, the cruellest part was aimed at forcing the states to ask for an increase in the GST due to the shortfall they would face. Mr Abbott is playing a political game with the states on this. He is playing with the health and education of our families, because he is too weak to tell Australians that his true intention is to raise the GST. Notwithstanding, Mr Morrison is out of the blocks, today, talking about how the states should raise their GST; perhaps Mr Morrison should have a short word in the ear of Mr Abbott. I suspect it is a tin ear, because he certainly has not listened to any of his frontbenchers or his backbenchers.

He tried to bring in a GP tax every time you visit a doctor, undermining our universal health-care system, and is trying to bring about the Americanisation of health care, which is being done without a mandate. He talked so much about a mandate during the last government. He is silent about the mandate of late. It is not in the best interests of Australians, which is the truth of it. During the public debate on the GP tax we saw numerous examples of people having stopped going to their local GP, as they thought the tax was in place. This leads to directly impacting on the health of Australians not to mention the importance of early intervention for certain medical conditions. All this is being put in jeopardy with mere propositions of the GP tax—the awful effects of this we would have had if Mr Abbott had got his own way and passed this draconian policy.

One of the highlights of Mr Abbott's leadership was the knighthood of Prince Philip. He introduced knighthoods after they were abolished decades ago. Yes, it is a little unfair of me to bring it up again but it is staggering how anyone could have thought that would work in the public domain. So who is the first person to be acknowledged with this anachronistic honour? Prince Philip. Not only does he bring back knights and dames but he gives it to Prince Philip—who is living in the UK—and does not give it, firstly, to an Australian. That is Mr Abbott acting alone. His call; his leadership. That is who he chose. It was a bad call not to consult with your cabinet colleagues. I have no doubt that his cabinet colleagues would have said, 'No mate, that doesn't cut it in the Australian community.' Equally, there are many deserving Australians who do need recognition, but not through a knight or a dame.

Another one of his captain's picks was Bronwyn Bishop. It finally came undone. The fact that he could not see that selecting someone so partisan and resistant to embracing the independent stance required of the Speaker's office does demonstrate a lack of judgement. Once again, the truth of it is that he did not trust his colleagues to allow them to make the selection for such an important position; he thought he would do it himself. He chose, again, another bad call that blew up in his face and further eroded the coalition's standing.

Mr Abbott failed again on the question of same-sex marriage. Whatever your view on the subject, he had so little confidence in his own backbench that he refused to give them an opportunity to even discuss the topic in their party room. For months, with mounting pressure, he had to be dragged kicking and screaming to allow an opinion to be expressed by his colleagues. A true leader is not afraid of his team's opinions. You ought to consult and listen. A real leader faces it and deals with it—but not Mr Abbott.

The cost of Mr Abbott's second-rate version of the National Broadband Network has blown out by $15 billion, and we are now paying more for an inferior service. It is extraordinary. In particular, the plight of Australians living in regional and rural parts of our country is highlighted by this government's failure to give adequate access to the NBN.

And let's look at Mr Abbott's economic credentials. The deficit has doubled since the coalition has been in power. After campaigning relentlessly to bring an end to the apparent budget emergency, Mr Abbott has made it worse. The MYEFO forecast a budget deficit twice as large as it was in the PEFO, when Labor was in office. It put paid to Mr Abbott's rhetoric before the election and since. Unemployment is up from 5.8 per cent when Labor was in office. It is now 6.2 per cent. That is 800,000 people unemployed, the highest number in more than 20 years.

What we have seen over the last two years under Mr Abbott is a lack of leadership: this government is not being led by a leader; this government is floundering around. It is a government making bad, stupid mistakes and embracing decisions which with common sense you would shy away from. Mr Abbott is a leader who has lost the trust and confidence of the Australian people as a result of his broken promises, bad 'captain's picks' and the gaffes that he continually makes. He has lost the confidence of his cabinet colleagues. Leadership speculation has been unfolding over the weekend and today—and it will be unfolding for the rest of this week. But it ought to be about trying to find a leader for the coalition—someone who actually can lead a government of any persuasion—because, at the moment, they are leaderless. They have a failed leader running this country at the moment, and some on the backbench and in the cabinet room see that and want to change. It is not up to this side to give you advice about change, but let me tell you that it is up to us to hold you to account. A government should be delivering good policy outcomes for the Australian people, and we have not seen any of that.

Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is remarkable and shows a lack of any prescient foresight to ask Senator Ludlam to lead a debate about the failure of leadership. Senator Ludlam, when he was the Minister for Agriculture, was responsible for virtually shutting down Australia's cattle export industry, which decimated the livelihoods of farmers and absolutely decimated our relationship with Indonesia. One of the hallmarks of this government is that it has rebuilt international relations that were a disaster under the previous government. Whether it be Indonesia or our relationships right around the world, this government, led by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, has a record of achievement, a record of mopping up the spills of the previous chaotic governments.

When we were elected, the Prime Minister very clearly said he was going to get rid of the carbon tax, get rid of the mining tax, stop the boats, stop the drownings at sea and work hard to rebuild our budget and our economy. And he has delivered on this. He stopped the boats. He stopped the 1000-plus deaths at sea that occurred under Labor and the Greens, who washed their hands and said, 'It's not our fault, it's not our responsibility, it can't be done.' But Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his team stopped the boats. It is a credit to him. One of the most humanitarian things that any government can do is to stop the senseless sacrifice of men, women and children on the perilous seas through poor policy making.

We also said we would stop the carbon tax to save the families of Australia $500 a year because it was not going to have any impact on the environment, it was merely a new tax impost for the government of the day. So how can it be a failure of leadership to deliver on what you promise? We said we would stop it, and we got rid of it.

And what about the mining tax? The mining tax was supposed to pay for a whole range of other schemes that Labor had implemented. But, of course, it collected next to no money. Only Labor and the Greens could implement a tax that actually cost more than it raised. It was one of the most inept pieces of public policy legislation, and it describes very accurately and succinctly just how hopeless things were under the chaos and dysfunction of the previous government.

True leadership is about having a vision for the country, and Prime Minister Abbott has demonstrated that in spades. He wanted to reduce the other side's budget deficit—and that is exactly what we have committed to doing—from $48 billion to around $7 billion in five years. And it was, of course, all about jobs because it is not much use having any other benefits unless you have a job or the opportunity to have one. There have been 335,000 additional jobs created under the policies led by Prime Minister Abbott. And 163,000 of those new jobs have been created so far in 2015.

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There's the Prime Minister's job!

Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is an average of 23,000 per month, for those who are struggling with the mathematics on the other side—23,000 new jobs every month and they are still complaining.

Importantly in that, it is worth noting that female workforce participation is at record levels.

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the cabinet!

Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There are over 171,000 more women in jobs than at any time since the 2013 election. These are good figures, and they are figures that are absolutely important to the welfare and benefit of this country.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How are you voting in the spill?

Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Deputy President, I will not be distracted by the jeers and the jibes from those on the other side. They have nothing to add to this discussion. They have nothing to add because they are all fluff and wind—that is how I would describe them.

They are the anti-jobs mob. They are the anti-leadership mob. They are already the mob that have no idea what they are going to take into the next election. Mr Abbott, of course, wanted to be known—and is known—as the infrastructure Prime Minister. He has a $50 billion infrastructure program to improve road and rail links. They are going to reduce travel times and support economic growth. Mr Abbott was in my own state of South Australia—a state, might I say, that is struggling under the yoke of 16 years' worth of Labor rule—this morning, pledging to support infrastructure and road and rail links, to reduce travel times and to support economic growth.

And, of course, Mr Abbott pledged to be the lower-taxing Prime Minister. What has he done? He has implemented tax cuts for small business, under the stewardship of the small business minister, Mr Bruce Billson, a man who has taken a passion for small business into cabinet—a place where the other side never had it. Small business is the engine room and the driver of employment and growth in our economy.

And whilst we are focusing on ridding regulation and bureaucratic bungling from small business, interfering with them creating jobs and making a business for themselves, those on the other side are all full of enquiry into the political intrigues of the day. This is where their focus is completely wrong—absolutely and completely wrong! Whilst they are focused on the minutiae, we are looking at the big picture and implementing a program that will see Australia prosper for decades to come under the stewardship of the Prime Minister, Mr Abbott.

I must also bell the cat here, because despite all the achievements that we have already enacted in getting the budget back into the black and making government smaller, funding for local hospitals is up by over 25 per cent over the next four years and funding for schools is up by 28 per cent over the next four years. That is because Prime Minister Abbott and his team are committed to local hospitals and to local health, and they are committed to the highest standards of education. Of course, with new childcare subsidies, working families with incomes of just over $65,000 and under $170,000 will be around $30 per week better off. These are important advancements for the families of Australia—better-educated children, better health care and assistance with child care affordability.

But there are broader concepts that the Abbott government has been leading the way in. And I have to suggest that one of the most important things that we can do is to stamp out and to root out corruption in the governance of the militant trade union movement, which is impacting on our progress in this country. There has been a royal commission established into trade union governance on the back of the cover-ups for Mr Craig Thomson. Do you remember him, Mr Deputy President? Mr Craig Thomson was the disgraced former member of the previous government, who embezzled a whole bunch of money from his union. They protected him and refused to drag him before the courts. But now he has been convicted.

There is also evidence of corruption in the trade union movement—of coercion and all sorts of shenanigans going on. None of this would have been uncovered without the insistence of Mr Abbott to get a good deal for the workers of this country. Because if you are not fighting for the workers you are fighting against them. And we are fighting for them. We are saying, 'If your union dues go into a union then they should be used appropriately.'

We have also dumped Labor's bank deposit tax. Do you remember that one, Mr Deputy President? That was when you put money in the bank and they were going to tax you on it. And when you took money out of the bank they were going to tax you on it—on the interest that you earned—because Labor are the big taxers. We have dumped that under the leadership of Mr Abbott. And we have also looked much further abroad. We have looked at the white paper on Northern Australia—we have released that. That is a comprehensive plan to unleash the economic potential of the region.

These are only a few—a few—of the many achievements of Mr Abbott in leading the government. It is not to say that leading any organisation—but particularly the nation—is not without challenge. And where those challenges have been thrown down we have handled them with aplomb. We have dealt with the vicissitudes of public life—the highs and the lows—and we have managed to keep ploughing on for the benefit of the people of Australia. It is absolutely imperative that we continue on the program, and we cannot afford to allow a Labor government to sneak back into power under the guise of falsehoods and misleading impressions. That is why we should be proud of this economic record— (Time expired)

Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, 10 minutes is a long time in politics, isn't it, Senator Bernardi? We are debating the point here that in a little while may be academic—because we will know that at four o'clock, won't we, when Mr Turnbull has a media conference, as I understand it. It just shows the old adage still stands.

Of course, the Prime Minister—if in fact he is the Prime Minister in the not-too-distant future—has failed to show leadership in this country. I do not have time to go into all those matters; I will stick mainly to my specific portfolio areas.

The Prime Minister came into being the Prime Minister, saying that he was going to be the Prime Minister for Indigenous affairs. But one of the key constituencies that he has failed are, in fact, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. One of his first moves in his first budget was to cut over half a billion dollars' worth of funding for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples—cutting the heart out of key programs and cutting the heart out of some very important Aboriginal health funding.

Then, of course, he has presided over bringing a whole lot of programs from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander portfolio into Prime Minister and Cabinet, and he has put in place the Indigenous Advancement Strategy. The strategy is so bad that we have had to refer it to a Senate committee inquiry—and the committee is still undertaking that work. We know that many essential services have been cut. Because of the mistakes that were made, the gaps have been identified, and some of those have been filled, but you cannot cut half a billion dollars worth of Aboriginal funding without having very significant impacts on the delivery of services and supports.

Then we had the broken promise to introduce a justice target into Closing the Gap targets. The Prime Minister has presided over a situation in Australia where there are ever-increasing rates of incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. He has failed to address that, failed to put in place justice reinvestment and, as I said, failed to put in place a justice target, which could then lead the rest of the country in addressing justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We have not seen any movement on implementing the over 21-year-old recommendations around deaths in custody of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Here we have a government that has been intent on having a go at the most vulnerable in our community. Who can fail to draw the link when there are headlines on the front pages of the tabloids that, yet again, demonise people with disability and those on disability support pensions and then, all of a sudden, on the same day, an announcement by the government on a crackdown on people with disability trying to survive on disability support pensions? I do not think anybody in this country would deny a distinct link between those outrageous headlines and more attacks on people with disabilities.

One of the most egregious attacks was on the young people of this country. The Prime Minister started off his term, in fact, attacking young unemployed people, saying that they were couch-surfing and content to live at home. He followed that up with another outrageous budget cut in which he tried to force young people under the age of 30 to exist on nothing for six months. He redefined the age of young people and tried to make them survive on thin air. He said, 'By the way, while you're surviving on thin air, try to find 40 jobs at the same time.' When that was destined for certain defeat in this very place, the government changed tack and decided that they were only going to deny people income support for four weeks—actually, make that five weeks, because that was on top of the ordinary waiting period. That, fortunately, was also rejected just last week—thank goodness. But, not content, the government say that they are going to bring it back again. Where is the Prime Minister's leadership to say, 'Actually, we got that wrong. We apologise to the youth of Australia. We are going to now support you and not try to demonise you.'

Climate change has to be one of the vast areas of his failed leadership. In fact, his leadership was with climate deniers. He proudly put on a tinfoil hat to tilt at windmills and to have a go at wind turbines, and he supported the comments about how beautiful coalmining is. (Time expired)

Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It looks like we might be on a unity ticket here because, just as we start this debate, Mr Turnbull is outside calling for a leadership spill. As I understand it, Ms Bishop might be as well. So we may be on a unity ticket. It might be the only unity ticket that this failed Prime Minister would actually keep. It is great to be on a unity ticket with most of the Senate today.

Let us go through the reasons we are at this point and the reasons for this matter of public importance, because they are very important to remember as we talk about the Prime Minister's failed leadership. This has come about not just because he runs around eating raw onions; it is not just because he reintroduced knights and dames and that a knighthood went to Prince Philip; it is not just because he appointed Bronwyn Bishop as Speaker; it is not just because he hung on to a 'rolled gold' paid parental leave scheme, which he was forced to abandon before now launching attacks on the current scheme; and it is not just because the 'Prime Minister for women' has largely left women out of his cabinet. It is not just because of all that. It is because this Prime Minister has failed the community. He failed them when he made those promises during the election campaign in 2013. He promised not to cut health, not to cut education and not to make any changes whatsoever to the GST. It is because of these and many more promises that the Prime Minister, Mr Abbott, made to the people of Australia that we have come to this position now. We have come here to talk about Mr Abbott's failed prime ministership and his failed leadership.

But Mr Abbott cannot be held solely responsible for all of these broken promises and the faith that he has broken in the community. Each and every one of those ministers in this government must be held accountable. That includes Mr Turnbull, who has failed to deliver on the NBN. The NBN has blown out, he has underdelivered, it has cost more and it has taken longer. We have a second-rate NBN, and Mr Turnbull has delivered it. The community want their government to work for them. They do not want a government that is only about itself. For so long, it appeared that the only thing Mr Abbott was concerned about was trying to ensure that blue ties were the order of the day.

This government and Mr Abbott have failed in relation to the Australian economy. They are failing to provide jobs. Confidence is down. The national accounts show economic growth of 0.2 per cent for the quarter and seasonally adjusted GDP growth of two per cent. The June quarter results were disappointing, and they came on the back of other poor figures. This is the biggest quarterly decline in living standards since the global financial crisis, and that is because we have had a Prime Minister who is now under attack by some of his own ministers when they have had a hand in what has been occurring in this country. They have had a hand in what has been occurring, but he is now under attack because of his failed leadership. Too often, it has been about the Prime Minister's own position; it has not been about Australian workers, it has not been about Australian families and it has not been about keeping faith with the Australian community. (Time expired)

David Fawcett (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is an interesting time to be talking about leadership. If you want to look at successful leadership then look at the leadership shown by this government around issues such as border protection. Let us look at the key things around border protection, from a humanitarian perspective, under the previous government: deaths at sea and children in detention. When the Howard government left office there were no children in detention. When the Rudd and Gillard governments came to office and implemented their policies we saw an almost open-door approach that has resulted in over 1,000 people dying. The poor quality of leadership—the lack of leadership—led to people dying and to 1,900 children in detention in July 2013. Do not forget that figure: over 1,900 children in detention, because of a lack of leadership from those on the opposite side.

Under this government we have seen—using the same Defence Force, the same departments and the same coast watch—determined and consistent leadership that has provided the kind of policy direction, consistency and support to those men and women who are serving on Operation Sovereign Borders to regain control of our borders. It has not been easy, but it has been done, and it has been done safely. And, most importantly, it has been done effectively. Because the same people were in the departments and the same equipment was available, the difference has been leadership. Commitment as well as a consistency and a certainty of purpose has driven that outcome. And that outcome means not only that there have been cost savings as a result of shutting down detention centres and not having to fly people on charter flights. We also heard the Assistant Minister for Immigration today talk about the fact that, unlike the $12 billion cost blow-out under the Labor Party, there have been savings in the hundreds of millions of dollars as we have been closing centres and not having to send flights.

But, importantly, the fact that we have been able to close down those detention centres and regain control of our borders has meant that we have had the capacity to show leadership on a world stage as the crisis in Syria has unfolded. People in this Senate will know that I spoke a couple of weeks ago about the Intelligence and Security Committee delegation I was part of, to the US, the UK and France, where we heard brief after brief about the dangers of the situation developing there with the millions of displaced people, both internally and externally, in refugee camps—about the very real humanitarian threat to those people as well as the issue of people increasingly starting to move in an uncontrolled manner into Europe. As that has accelerated in the past couple of weeks, on the world stage what we have seen from this government is true leadership. Not only is it about replacing our existing refugee intake but an additional 12,000 places have been made available by this government. That is leadership. If you compare that figure with that of other nations, it is more than the US's. The UK is taking a slightly numerically greater number, but that is over a number of years. If you look at the funding that is being applied, Australia is not only one of the most generous nations in actual dollar terms but, most importantly, unlike some countries that have pledged large amounts but have then not actually paid the money, Australia has made sensible and targeted commitments and followed through. That leadership is making a difference for the people in those camps—in Jordan, in Turkey—and for the people who are living in Lebanon, including those who are not necessarily in camps.

We are also seeing leadership in that it is not just a knee-jerk reaction, saying 'Come one, come all.' It is about looking at the fact that there are people involved in a conflict that is based on sectarian issues. There is a large Sunni population and a Shiah population who have been in conflict with each other for many years, and sometimes it flares to the surface. But look at the people who have been consistently oppressed. If you look at the numbers of the Jewish population, the Christian population and the Druze population in that part of the world, they have decreased dramatically over the last decade. Even if one day there is a peace of some sort that is resolved in that part of the world, with whatever happens with Daesh or whatever happens with the Assad regime, even if they can somehow with their supporters in Russia and Iran or in Saudi Arabia or other countries reach some kind of long-term peace, the issue for these persecuted minorities is that they will still not have a place.

It is a documented fact that Christians are now the most persecuted religious group in the world. There are a number of studies that demonstrate this fact. It is leadership from this government that says we recognise that everyone, regardless of their creed, is suffering right now, in the short term. But in the medium to long term, who has no options in that part of the world? Who has no medium- or long-term future in that part of the world? It is leadership from this government that has secured our borders, given us the capacity to take additional people, made the Australian public trusting of a government who can secure their borders and enabled us to reach out to bring in the most persecuted, the most needy, and not only give them a safe haven in the short term but also provide the leadership to give them a meaningful settlement program that will give them a future. It is a leadership that brings communities in Australia, the diaspora of the Orthodox churches and others, together to provide the support for these people so that when they come here they can settle in this nation and build a new life for themselves and their children.

Long-term leadership is about statesmanship. It is not just about the next election. It is about having an eye on the next generation. There are a number of steps that this government has taken which show true long-term leadership. (Time expired)

John Madigan (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to speak on this matter of public importance, the Prime Minister's failed leadership. Quite frankly, Australians are sick of this self-indulgent BS. The average unemployment rate is 6.2 per cent. In Victoria it is 6.1 per cent and in South Australia it is 7.9 per cent. These figures concern me. They concern me more than today's MPI stunt. I do not make any excuses for the current Prime Minister or former prime ministers but I would like to point out that I do not hold the other two prospective candidates in any higher regard, namely Mr Turnbull and Mr Shorten. Instead, I think we as a parliament should stop bickering about the Prime Minister's leadership and instead focus on our country and our people.

When I think about failures in government, I think of Manus Island, I think of the fact that no contracts were signed for the building of our submarines or our frigates under the previous governments, I think of the loss of the car industry and I think of the fact that governments of all persuasions have not established a sensible Australian procurement policy. When it comes to determining whether a Prime Minister has failed, I would prefer to let the ultimate judge be the Australia people at election time, not faceless men who have moved up the party-political ranks through deals and delusion.

Today, let me speak about how the office of Prime Minister has failed over successive governments, both Labor and Liberal. In my working life alone, I have seen the car manufacturing and heavy industry shrink. We had Nissan and we had Mitsubishi; we still currently have Ford, Toyota and Holden. I have seen the demise of Massey Ferguson, Vickers Ruwolt, and Jacques, the industrial engineering group. I have seen the breakup of BHP and its divisions. BHP was a conglomerate of engineering and manufacturing, oil and gas—from Rheem hot water services to Waratah farm fencing, and structural steel for our bridges and our buildings. The steel industry is currently in crisis because of materials dumped on our shores. Emerging economies across the world are trying to build and maintain a manufacturing base, while we are letting ours go to rack and ruin. Many nations look upon Australia with contempt in the knowledge that we have a car industry yet we are bidding it good-riddance.

Our governments, of all persuasions, seem to be all talk. One would think, with the amount of white and green papers coming out of this place, that government might be able to advance Australia's interests—but I guess that would just be naive. When I have CEOs and presidents of large multinational companies coming into my office and telling me that their company is reluctant to further invest in Australia because of the consistent chatter about leadership—whether it be Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott or Malcom Turnbull—I wonder what the hell is going on. Sometimes I think Australian industry might be better off if parliament did not sit and politicians just kept their mouths shut. As I said in my maiden speech:

If we are not making decisions that make the lives of Australians better, then we should at least make sure we do not make them any worse.

Currently we have a tsunami of job losses approaching us from the demise of the automotive and component manufacturing sectors. We are on the verge of delivering hopelessness, despair and a lack of self-esteem, self-worth and self-respect to tens of thousands of Australians. People are asking us to stop bickering and get on with the job of managing the country for the benefit of all Australians. Our economy is currently hostage to commodity prices, peaks and troughs, and we seem to be a country that is unwilling to add value and to strive to provide meaningful employment for all Australians.

Only this afternoon I was speaking to a chap who, during his 40-year working life, started a company in the 1990s. The company exported to the world and they currently still do. He said:

We, as a nation, no longer have the ability to do non-ferrous metal extrusion in this country.

For those of you who do not know, non-ferrous materials include metals like copper and alloys like brass. We cannot do that very basic thing on our own shores.

Nova Peris (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to speak on this matter of public importance, the Prime Minister's failed leadership. No prime minister has ever let down the people of Australia and the people of the Northern Territory as badly as Mr Abbott has, and he is being challenged, right now, because of it. Mr Abbott's leadership has been two years of unfairness, broken promises, negativity, fear and loathing.

On some levels, the Prime Minister seems to have offended most of the country. In Mr Abbott's world, women seem to do nothing but iron clothes, Australia was empty before the First Fleet arrived and Aboriginal people living on their traditional lands is just a lifestyle choice. Mr Abbott's world is full of misunderstanding of the people he was elected to govern. He thought Australians would put up with a Medicare co-payment, $100,000 university degrees and a knighthood for Prince Philip. The reactions of Australians have shown the Prime Minister just how out of touch he is. They have shown him that they will not put up with unfairness, fearmongering or ministers who mislead.

I want to tell the Prime Minister—if it is still Mr Abbott!—how he has hurt Territorians and why the Northern Territory will not put up with him any longer. By the sound of it, neither will his own cabinet. The people of the Northern Territory and the whole of northern Australia are smarter than the coalition give them credit for. Contrary to what Mr Dutton thinks, we do not operate on 'Cape York time' or 'Territory time'. The people of the Northern Territory have suffered under the double whammy of the woeful—I repeat: woeful—Country Liberal government in the Northern Territory and the Abbott government here in Canberra. The woeful Country Liberal government in the Northern Territory have become a laughing stock in Australia, and I will tell you why, Mr Acting Deputy President Williams—because we have had 14 cabinet reshuffles, 2½ chief ministers, four treasurers, and four members who have defected, all in the space of three years. You could not make that up if you tried.

Territorians have been slugged by the Abbott government's cuts, delays and incompetence. Much of the funding under the Indigenous Advancement Strategy is needed in the Northern Territory, but it was cut in half; half a billion dollars for Aboriginal services across this country have been ripped out of the IAS. People in the Northern Territory bush and outstations have been let down by this government. Health, education and nutritional organisations have all been hurt. Legal aid services have suffered and face continued uncertainty. Hundreds of people are wondering whether they will have a job in the coming months, the next six months or next year. Hundreds face the possibility of having to represent themselves in court because of the funding cuts. Childcare centres have closed, school attendance is not getting any better and homelands face closure under the CLP and the coalition government. The people of the Northern Territory have been let down by this government. Since coming into office in 2012, the Northern Territory Country Liberal government has been characterised by division, chaos and lies.

Since coming into government in 2013, the Abbott government has made it worse for the people of the Northern Territory. The cost of living has gone up. Power and water prices have gone up. Unemployment is up. There are big delays to all kinds of government programs and infrastructure projects.

Under these two governments, there have been two major delays. One is to the Palmerston hospital, which is now years behind. The member for Solomon in the other place promised her electorate that the construction of the hospital would start in 2014. It is almost the end of 2015, and nothing has started. The other is the children's wing at Royal Darwin Hospital, which is also now not going ahead, again thanks to the total lack of commitment to the health of Territorians from both the CLP and the federal coalition government.

The Abbott government failed on school funding. Labor committed to proper schools funding in the Northern Territory. The Abbott government backed down on Gonski funding, and the CLP has slashed teachers like you would not believe, including support staff across Territory schools. Class sizes are up and workloads for teachers are up. It is no wonder that the people of the Territory are turning their backs on Mr Adam Giles and Mr Abbott. They have failed to take notice of the very real struggles faced by everyday Territorians. They are completely out of touch with Territory communities.

This is all occurring against the backdrop of constant talk about the development of northern Australia. Labor support the meaningful development of northern Australia. We support sustainable economic development in the Top End. We support increased employment opportunities for Aboriginal people and all Territorians. But how can the Abbott government honestly say that they are taking Northern Territory development seriously when they are slashing and burning their way through the north? They talk about great big, new projects, but guess what, Mr Acting Deputy President Williams? Not a single new project in the Top End has been delivered by the Abbott government, not even projects started by the previous Territory and federal Labor governments, like the Palmerston hospital and the children's wing at the Royal Darwin Hospital, as I said before, which have both been delayed. The member for Solomon has failed to lobby the Prime Minister to move any of this forward; and, if she did lobby him, she too has failed miserably. The people of Lingiari are fortunate to have my colleague Warren Snowdon to stand up for them here in Canberra. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about Mrs Griggs.

It is not just the Prime Minister who has failed the people of the Territory; most of his cabinet have too. The Treasurer, Mr Hockey, told Australia that poor people do not drive cars, at a time when Territorians were paying more for fuel than people anywhere else in Australia. Mr Pyne has slashed education funding while the Northern Territory struggles to catch up with the rest of Australia in our education standards. And, on Friday, Mr Dutton referred to 'Cape York time' as if he thinks northern Australia is behind the times. He seems to think that the north cannot keep up. This represents a major problem in the Abbott government, and we are seeing things unravel today. They simply do not have the respect of northern Australia. They do not trust that the north of Australia can look after itself. It makes a complete mockery of their so-called commitment to northern Australia, as I have previously said.

Mr Tony Abbott's leadership lacks compassion and creativity—and love from his own party, by the sound of what is happening right now. Every time he is asked about his government's record to date, he starts telling us about the things he has stopped, banned or pulled down. He has not created anything good that Australia can feel proud of. He is a wrecker, not a builder.

This government has failed the people in the north. Territorians are sick and tired of the broken promises, chaos and dysfunction that have just gotten worse since Adam Giles and Mr Abbott took over. The member for Solomon has failed to protect Darwin and Palmerston from her boss in Canberra. The CLP have failed to deliver for Territorians since they were elected in 2012.

The Prime Minister's failed leadership has cost the Territory jobs and perhaps cost him his own job. It has cost money. It has cost us health and education outcomes. The end cannot come soon enough.

Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Clearly there are momentous events occurring outside of this chamber right now. With all due respect to Senator Peris, I think the Australian people would expect a more considered contribution in that event than simply the stale talking points and sound bites from a staffer's or opposition leader's written speech. One of the problems we have had in Australian politics over the past few years is the rise of Blackberry politics, if you like—that we all tend to simply read points off our mobile phones that are emailed to us in the morning—and I think the Australian people can see through it. I think the Australian people realise it and we are all suffering because of it.

Today I want to start with a bit of history. I was reminded on the weekend by Minister Barnaby Joyce. He is a student of history himself. He gave a speech to the National Party convention and quoted Ecclesiastes: There is Nothing New Under the Sun. I certainly think that what we are experiencing today is nothing new under the sun as well. Barnaby wanted to quote Roman history and I want to do so too, but it is a very different part of Roman history. I am not sure if Senator Ryan is a student of Roman history, but, Senator Ryan, you might remember that there was a particularly handsome emperor called Commodus, otherwise known as Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator. Commodus was a disaster as an emperor. He was a tyrant and an evil one at that, and the empire was in a mess when he was subjected to his fate by the Praetorian Guards. They installed a guy called Pertinax. Pertinax promised the Praetorian Guards a large sum of money, but he never came through with that, so the Praetorian Guards dealt with him and he was gone. The problem was that they did not have a replacement. Instead of simply choosing the best person for the job, the Praetorian Guards established an auction at the time.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why don't you mention Tony Abbott? This is about Tony Abbott.

Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You might learn something, Senator Wong. You had best listen up.

John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order on my left, Senator Wong! Things were going very well until you interrupted.

Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Praetorian Guards set up an auction. They decided to say to the Roman people, 'You decide. Whoever can pay us the most amount of money can become emperor,' and that is what happened. There was an auction between a guy called Sulpicianus, who was the father-in-law of Pertinax, and Didius Julianus. Sulpicianus started the bidding at 5,000 drachmas, but eventually Didius Julianus won at 6,200. It was an unbecoming act for the empire. It was effectively a standing auction on who could be emperor. Unfortunately, I think something is happening with the Australian body politic as well at the moment, because we are being subject to a bidding process through polls and popularity, not through the policy consequences of what we are doing. It is an unbecoming process and it is not one that I think the Australian people hold us in high regard for doing. If we continue to enter into this cycle and continue to be slaves to an announcement of polling results every fortnight, the Australian people will continue to think less of us every time.

In my view, we should seek to re-establish trust in this chamber and in the other chamber and in this parliament—a trust that has deteriorated and been downgraded in the past eight years. We have become fat and lazy and complacent on a couple of decades of very good government. Now we—and I think all political parties have been subject to this in the past few years—have failed to show that leadership, that constancy, that consistency and that stability that the Australian people expect of us. We will not restore our trust until we can rekindle and refine what we had not that long ago.

I am standing at the Whip's chair. I am a National Party senator and I am very proud. I want to make comment on other political parties, but I am very proud that the National Party has had 12 leaders in 95 years. While those leaders have gone through great tumult and change through decades, there has been a very reliable element of constancy, stability and certainty from the National Party and, before that, the Country Party. When you read National Party history, there is a great story. After Earle Page lost the leadership, Archie took over briefly, but there was a bit of tumult at the time and there was a leadership spill between John McEwen and another gentleman whose name escapes me—he never became leader. John McEwen tied the leadership with this guy in 1939, I think. They could not break the tie, so they installed Arthur Fadden as a temporary leader, but then, of course, World War II broke out—

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order on relevance. I appreciate that these are wide-ranging discussions, but the MPI is on the Prime Minister, Mr Abbott—the current Prime Minister's failed leadership. He has not touched on that for some time.

John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong, there is no point of order. This is about leadership and Senator Canavan is drawing an analogy. Continue, Senator Canavan.

Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Acting Deputy President Williams. As I was saying, John McEwen lost that leadership battle and Arthur Fadden took over as a temporary leader. He was eventually made permanent during World War II because of the war. Arthur Fadden remained leader until 1957. So McEwen was one vote away in 1939 and did not take over as leader until 1957. As somewhat of a conservative, I do perhaps miss the patience that might have been shown by a different generation. I think the Australian people also share some frustration with the level of self-centredness and selfishness that sometimes leaders display in this place. I can only speak for my own contribution in this place, but I will always try to live up to the example that we should be putting the Australian people first with every decision we make.

Senator Wong interjecting—

We should not just be putting the Australian people first; we should be putting the future of our country first, the future of our nation first, and protect our future generations with an example that demonstrates our ability to run this country in a way that is respectful and consistent over many decades.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Forgot to mention the Prime Minister!

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong, I bring to your attention standing order 197 and foreshadow to you that I am a little less tolerant of interjections than some others who sit in this chair.

Senator Wong interjecting—

Senator Wong, I am speaking. I bring to your attention that interjections are disorderly. We will now move along.

Senator Wong interjecting—

No, we will now move along. I bring to your attention that interjections are disorderly, and please do not answer me back. Is that clear? We will move along.

Senator Wong interjecting—

Matthew Canavan (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Give it a rest, Penny.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! We will move along.

Senator Wong interjecting—

Senator Wong, order!

Senator Canavan interjecting—

Order on my right! Senator Canavan! Do you have a point of order, Senator Wong?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was only making the point that you were chiding me but allowing Senator Canavan to interject across the chamber.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If we had a little time we would have a session on that. We are going to move along now, and I ask that senators respect the chamber. Interjections are disorderly. We will continue. I shall now proceed to the consideration of documents. The documents are listed on page 4 of today's Order of Business. Are there any ministerial statements?