Ralph Babet (Victoria, United Australia Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Many Australians are quickly realising that, as bad as this Labor government has been, it may not be the biggest problem that we have. You see, if you sack the government, you can vote out your local MP, for example. But, if you do that, the only thing that changes is the name on the door of the local electorate office. The same nameless, faceless, unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats who were pulling the strings before you cast your ballot will continue to pull the strings after—and their presence continues to grow, taking more and more from the taxpayer. The larger the bureaucracy grows the further their tentacles reach into every corner of our lives. It has become almost impossible to do anything without involving a bureaucrat. In some parts of this country you've can't even cut down a tree, dig a hole or build a garden shed without reference to a bureaucrat. The Public Service is the unseen authoritarian.

If the government really wants to reduce the cost of living while providing greater liberty and guaranteeing the precious freedoms that we all get to enjoy, there's only one thing to do: slash the Public Service, shrink the bureaucracy, undo the ties that bind us all and repeal as much legislation as humanly possible. If the government cut back the bureaucracy instead of always making it bigger, it would only improve our nation. Change the Prime Minister and you will change the country just a little bit, but cut the bureaucracy and you will change the nation completely—for the better. This is the great challenge before us today, but is there a political party in this chamber with the cojones to actually do it? Probably not. Well, it's not red. It's not blue. It's definitely not green. It's probably yellow.