Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

CADELL (—) (): I move:

That the Senate take note of all answers by the government to coalition questions.

It's another day, another question time, and here I am again. I was looking for something original to say in my take note, but same old story over and over again. We ask the questions and we get a history reel of what happened nine years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago and 30 years ago, but that's not what the people of Australia are after. They're after the vision, the hope, the optimistic view of what will happen in five years, in two years. How will their lives be better in one year? How will they meet their mortgage interest or their energy payments next month? But we don't get that here. We are a long way from getting that here. I noted Minister Farrell was talking about the 'years and years' ago of other policy when avoiding saying the number $275. That's what we are doing. We are avoiding talking about what we can do in this chamber, avoiding what this government will do to make lives better for the people of Australia.

That's the scary bit because saying something isn't doing something. Saying we will put nurses into nursing homes isn't getting it done. Saying we will drop $275 on your energy bills isn't doing that. I like that, every time it comes up, we're reminded that we stood in the way or we didn't support the gas cap. This is like when your dog is attacking your cat and the answer of someone else is to shoot the dog and you're accused of not supporting the cat. It is a wrong thing to do. Your energy policy is wrong. To cap this thing is wrong. Not supporting something doesn't mean you're trying to get the outcome. It is a wrong policy and the wrong thing to do. That poor dog.

There are people out there suffering 30, 50 or 60 per cent energy rises That's what is going on, and a gas cap is not helping them. They can say what it would have been, what it could have been. I wouldn't be here. I'd be having a lovely week off if I had the lotto numbers last week, but I didn't and I'm here. This is what we get every time from this. We get avoidance of what actually happened. We get avoidance of the policies. We get a history revision. It's almost like Minister Farrell is auditioning for a sequel, pitching to Hollywood AnInconvenient Truth 2: the Avoidance. We can't do that forever. The Australian people need more.

We talk about wage growth and how it was a preset policy of the government for wage growth to be low, but it was wage growth. We noted that in December there was the highest real wage drop on record—not in 10 years, not in five years, not in a month. On record, the highest real wage growth was just in December. That is the difference between a government doing things and saying things. This is a government very good at saying things. It is not a government that is very good at doing things. That's where we can come together. There are very good people in this room. There are very good people in the other room. But we are stuck in the hype and hyperbole of the election promises and of beliefs and philosophies, and practical things aren't happening. We have seen that so many times when there are simple, practical steps that can make people's lives better. We could be talking about it, but we're not.

We talk about the irony of what happened over the last three years, where we had COVID and there were failures in aged care. We can own that. It had never been put under such pressure as what we had. What we are looking for is a way forward. That is why we all came here. We didn't come here to hurl abuse across the chamber. It's a bit of fun. We have a bit of theatre for an hour, but it's not why we came here. We came here to try to improve the lots of people in our electorates, our regions, our states and our families, people we know and care about. That isn't done by not taking responsibility.

So we always ask the questions. We never get the answers. The sad thing is the Australian people don't get the answers either. They don't get the answers to what this government is going to do so that they can pay their mortgages, with interest rates going up nine times since this government was elected. It's not all their fault. I'm not saying it's their fault. We don't have to apportion blame. We have to create hope, and we aren't doing that. We need to do things better. We aren't seeing how we're creating enough energy to put downward forces on energy prices. That is the thing we need to. That is the thing we should be doing. I look forward to this government realising that and doing more.

Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cadell, I agree with so much of what you said: there are often great people in here, and we really should be working together to get the kind of outcomes that the Australian people deserve. It's very sad that you're leaving the chamber, though. We have laid out a vision. We have laid out a vision for one year, five years and 10 years in many of those areas that were traversed throughout this question time.

History is important because we look back on history to try not to do the things that didn't work again and to do more of the things that did work, to learn from that experience. We are faced with accusations that we've killed the housing sector. I have to tell you that you cannot kill the housing sector in 10 short months. It's actually not possible. It's just not possible. The kind of neglect that you have to have to end up where we are now started long before 10 months ago. So, Senator Cadell, I will just remind you that a lot of that history piece is about understanding what's moving forward.

What we did see today was a definite theme across the chamber of just saying no. Those opposite said no to every issue that was brought up. They said no to wage increases as we've gone along. In fact, there was a deliberate policy to stagnate them. That was an admitted intent while those opposite were in government. They said no to action on climate change. In this chamber, they're not alone. There are those on our crossbench and in the Greens who have done the same. They have chosen not to take action to move this country forward to deal with one of the biggest global crises we've ever seen. To protect the future for our children and our society, we must make changes. But no is the answer from them.

They've specifically said no to the safeguard mechanism. That is just bizarre. It is a structure that in 2015 they were fully behind. They put it in place in such a way that it achieved nothing and, in fact, could be held responsible for increasing emissions by letting people off the hook on their emissions, but it is the same theory that they spouted at that time but then failed to deliver on because they did not structure the mechanism sufficiently.

What we've done is taken that, in a bipartisan way, and made it stronger—strengthened it so that it will actually achieve those outcomes, so that it will actually reduce emissions, and so that it will actually get us to our targets and help us save the future, effectively. We've heard a lot in this chamber in the last couple of hours about the IPCC report. And, yes, it is alarming. This is an alarming global crisis, and it is about time we did something about it. But no—that's the word we hear most: no, no, no and a bit more no.

Those opposite said no to $230 average savings to household power bills. Those opposite said no to so many different measures over and over again, leaving us in the situation we're in now, where we do not have sufficient action. There is this constant rewriting of history and the sense that, in the nine-plus years that you were in government, you didn't actually contribute to any of the challenges that we are now facing. So, when you say that the questions through question time are not being answered by the Labor government, I can assure you they are. The problem is you don't like the answer, but that does not mean that the answer was not given.

I will wrap up by saying that we must work together at some degree to get change to make this country better. There is a point where you have to put aside the rubbish and actually get on board with progressive change.

Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The motion before you, Deputy President, is to take note of the answers to questions by coalition senators, but what we've seen today is, sadly, a display of not answering questions that are put to those on the other side. Maybe those in the gallery aren't aware, but today is broadcast day. That little light up there means the Senate is being broadcast on radios right across the country and online. People tuning in and listening to question time today had the opportunity to hear some answers to questions that were asked by well-meaning coalition senators, and what we got were nonanswers, avoiding answering questions. There were questions about what the government will do, and the answers just reflected on what the previous government did. There were questions going to the heart of very serious issues across this country, like the cost of living.

Promises were made before the election that people would see a reduction in their electricity bills. Throughout the election campaign we heard from the government 90-odd times that Australians would see their electricity bills reduce by $275 if this government were elected. The government have walked away from that; they have broken the promise on that commitment that they made. That's why you're hearing nonanswers on that side, because they don't want to admit the fact that they actually told the Australian people a big, fat lie, because they wouldn't actually be able to deliver on it. And they have done nothing to address the cost of living. One of the best ways they could address the cost of living is to reduce spending, but we have seen no measure whatsoever from this government to cut the expenditure of government. That is the sure-fire way of reducing inflation, the sure-fire way of addressing the cost-of-living issues for Australian households. Instead, all this government is doing is leaving it up to the RBA to increase interest rates, ultimately restricting the availability of cash to fund people's expenses. It's hitting people's mortgages. So it's the mortgagees of this country, not the government, that are making the big decisions. That's a real shame, because there are some very serious issues that the government are contending with. But they're actually walking away, rather than facing up to the issues that are before us.

We heard a question today about what the government are going to do in relation to their promise that there would be registered nurse coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week in our aged-care homes. Senator Farrell was asked a very serious question as to whether, in the comments she made yesterday, the Minister for Aged Care was walking back the commitment that was made. Senator Farrell was asked whether or not he stood by that statement. Maybe the minister misspoke. Maybe the minister didn't quite get it right. But, instead of facing up to the scrutiny of that question, the minister avoided it completely.

What we've seen on broadcast day for the Senate is a demonstration of how not to answer questions. This government is proving, quite effectively, to be very artful at breaking promises and dodging questions. The Australian people expect more and deserve more from this government. Those opposite are proving, time and again, to be quite adept at dodging questions and breaking promises, and it's having a real impact on Australian people. It's affecting them, because while you're doing that you're not facing up to things and putting in place measures that might actually help people. We've got a cost-of-living crisis in this country. In arrogantly coming in here and not answering the scrutiny of questions in this place, you're actually saying to the Australian people that all you're interested in is power; that you're only interested in being on that side of the chamber, not in taking your job seriously. Take your job seriously, Labor!

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I kind of enjoyed Senator Cadell's contribution a little earlier, but I found it a bit confusing. I've had a cat and a dog before and I don't remember those sorts of issues being raised. I'm not sure whether we need to check on the welfare of Senator Cadell's dog or cat! But, anyway, they were interesting metaphors that he used.

Senator Cadell also suggested in his contribution that if Senator Farrell were pitching a film to Hollywood it would be called 'The Avoidance'. I would reflect that if that is their view of Senator Farrell's contribution to question time then perhaps their questions will be pitched as a film called The Irony. The Audacity might be another good title, if we're going to be renaming these contributions as films.

That last question on aged care—I mean, come on! The royal commission report into aged care, which came down under the previous government, was literally called Neglect. It does not get clearer than that. The failures in aged care under the previous government were blindingly obvious for all of us to see. I won't repeat some of the horrific details which came out of aged-care homes during that time, but I think everyone in this country could agree that the aged-care sector was in absolute crisis. That's why we came to the election with an ambitious plan to fix it. Frankly, it deserved nothing less. We, as Labor people, can't read a report called Neglect without seeking to respond to it with the utmost ambition. To have nurses in nursing homes 24/7 is a high ambition. Do you know what, Mr Acting Deputy President? We're 80 per cent of the way there. Nine per cent of services are close. We are hopeful that we will get all the way there, but it is likely there'll be exemptions for some, because workforce is a serious challenge. It's a challenge which didn't start 10 months ago. It's a challenge that started 10 years ago, under the previous government. We've been in government 10 months; they were in government for almost a decade.

So the workforce challenges are serious and they won't be fixed overnight, but what we have done is to support a wage increase for aged-care workers. We not only supported it and backed it in but are paying for it. That's because this sector and the workers within it have not felt valued, and it's very hard to attract workers to a sector where they don't feel valued and where they're not paid appropriately for the work that they do. So that's part of fixing the workforce challenge. I don't make any apologies for having high ambitions in this space. Frankly, if you have anything short of high ambitions in aged care then, honestly! So, there you go, Senator Cadell: audacity or irony—you choose.

And it wasn't just on aged care today; then we got to energy prices and climate change. They had 22 failed energy policies over the term of their government. If they were serious about taking action on energy prices, or about supporting investment in renewables and other forms of power which would help to alleviate pressure on electricity and energy prices, they would have pulled the show together and delivered an energy policy that could stick. We've had a decade of inaction and disunity on climate change and energy policy in this country, and we're staring down the barrel of more because they're not coming to the table on safeguards—and it seems that those guys over there aren't coming to the table on safeguards. If we want another decade of failed energy and climate policy then that's what to do. The audacity and irony of it!

On wages more broadly: there could not be a clear indication of the difference in values between our government and the opposition than on wages. There is the sheer fact that low wages were a deliberate design feature of their economic architecture, but we wanted to see wages increase. This speaks for itself; actually, it speaks volumes about the values of the modern-day Liberal Party and the values of the Labor movement. We came in and backed an increase to the minimum wage, and we supported increases for aged-care workers to get that sector back on track. Being a government of high ambition and strong and consistent values—being a government that gives a damn—is not something I will ever apologise for. The irony and the audacity of the questions today!

Hollie Hughes (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Climate Change and Energy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's always the same from those opposite: it's all bluster and bluff. It's all looking backwards and pointing the finger, and not quite realising that they're in government. They're more interested in virtue-signalling than they are in actually delivering any plans to the Australian people and to those Australian families who are doing it so tough at the moment.

What we've seen in the New South Wales state campaign today is just another example. The much-lauded electric bus that was developed in Western Sydney and which was going to take the Labor wannabe Premier, his team, the media and staff around Sydney to campaign has broken down. The bus that is supposed to have a 300-kilometre radius travelled 60 kays and then broke down. So if you want to talk about irony, a diesel bus had to come out and pick everybody up!

We know about those opposite and their safeguard mechanism. I know that this is take note, and that we're here to take note of answers. Senator Farrell, I say this with much love and affection: there were the ums and the ahs, the bluff and the bluster. The prevarication was really quite something to behold! It was an Academy Award-winning performance in not answering questions. I think that some of your colleagues have taken it on, because I've listened to a couple of the speeches that your colleagues have made in response today—no wonder the galleries have emptied! I have never heard a bigger load of rot, with people saying nothing, addressing nothing and not putting forward an idea to the Australian public. All the Labor Party is capable of doing is putting forward broken promises, and the Australian electorate is starting to wake up to that. But the bus is just a great example of a broken-down opposition in the state of New South Wales as they approach their election this weekend. We had the broken-down electric bus that didn't go anywhere as a reflection of those opposite.

It's also a reflection of the plans and policies they put forward before the election, which became the broken promises and the litany of lies that have been told to the electorate since then. We know that we went into this election with the Voldemort number of 275—the number that shall not speak its name if you're a member of the ALP. The Australian people were told 97 times that their power bills would come down by $275. We all know now that that was a furphy. We were told there would be no changes to superannuation—not modest changes, not tinkering around the edges—but no changes to superannuation. We were told that there'd be no changes to franking credits. They weren't going to make the mistake that Minister Bowen made in the 2019 election: 'If you don't like our policies, don't vote for us.' That was very sound advice, which the electorate took up.

They learnt from that mistake, so they lied to the Australian people about franking credits. Now we're looking at a situation where you can't pay a dividend once capital raising has occurred. We have farmers absolutely petrified, because these 'modest changes' mean that family farms that have passed from generation to generation and that are part of self-managed super funds are under threat, because of this absolutely economically reckless and ridiculous tax on an unrealised asset. For those watching on the broadcast, that means something that's not sold. It's actually a paper profit. If you own land that you have worked hard on and invested in and saved for your family, and it somehow tips over $3 million on paper—it hasn't been sold and you don't have money in the bank; it's just on paper—you will have to sell it to pay the tax bill. That is the grab from those opposite, who hate retirees and hate farmers. They have their hearts set on destroying self-managed super funds, because they union mates make up the bulk of the big super funds.

Of course, the biggest issue facing Australians is cost-of-living pressures. The energy promise was broken. There's no $275 reduction. In fact, from 1 July this year we will see a further 20 per cent increase on gas and electricity bills. We know there will be gas shortages, which will create further pressure. Whenever you do market interventions around price caps, you actually make it worse in the long run. That's what we've seen with this government. They have no plan. What they have is lots of absolutely unfounded and ridiculous rhetoric pointing back to the previous government. The word COVID never passes their lips. According to Senator Polley, we had calm economic waters, because COVID was calm! This is an insult to every Australian family, and your rhetoric isn't making one iota of difference to a family budget.

Question agreed to.