Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise as leader of the National Party in the Senate to wish everybody a very, very merry Christmas. We are very proud, in my party, to represent the nine million Australians who don't live in capital cities, who love the great outdoors, love their families and love our nation. We love this time of year when we get to gather with family and friends, peacefully, joyfully and hopefully—hopefully!—to appreciate what is good and great about our nation.

Let's face it, Australians have been doing it incredibly tough, and it's in no small part because of the Anthony Albanese Labor government's attack on our standard of living. Their poor decision-making, their inexperience in office and the fact that they've been on a spendathon have made our Reserve Bank governor's job much harder, and so we've had high inflation for longer because of this government's decisions. I know Christmas is going to be incredibly tough for so many Australian families, but I know we're also resilient and creative. So I hope that each and every one of you finds a way to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, which is holding those you love closer, celebrating the freedoms you have, and heading out to the bush or the beach en masse, getting back in love with nature and celebrating all that is good and great about our country.

I want to thank the volunteers across our wide brown land, who, while many of us are celebrating with family and friends, will be keeping us safe. Whether it's the surf lifesavers on our beaches, whether it is our country fire authorities or whether it's our SES—all of that volunteer network who put their community's safety before their own safety—I want to say thank you. I'm praying that this won't be a bushfire season, but, if it is, know that we are standing with you and thanking you for having our back.

In terms of the National Party's ability to stand up here in Canberra, far away from where we live, for the people we've been sent here to represent in the parliament, we've been able to deliver so many things. We were the first to come out and support a 'no' vote against Labor's divisive voice. Four hundred and fifty million dollars was wasted on this vanity project of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and it turned out that over 60 per cent of the Australian people agreed with us. Of course we're committed to reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Of course we want to see better outcomes for the most marginalised in our community. But dividing this country along lines of race via our Constitution was not something the Australian people or the National Party wanted to happen.

Similarly, when it came to raising the issues with the reckless rollout of renewables, carpeting our prime agricultural land and our regional communities with solar panels, wind towers, batteries and thousands of kilometres of new transmission lines, we stood up and said, 'No, there's got to be a better way to get to net zero by 2050.' That's why the National Party has backed in nuclear power generation.

We've also been able to secure divestiture powers when it comes to the supermarkets. For too long, Coles and Woolworths have been slugging both ends of the supply chain. Customers are feeling it at the check-out, and primary producers are feeling it when they're trying to sell their prime agricultural produce to the supermarkets. These are some of the achievements for the little party that's been in this parliament for over 120 years—a great privilege.

On behalf of the Nats, we are looking forward to a merry Christmas; we wish you and your families the same. We look forward to an election in 2025, where the Australian people get to throw this bad government out and elect Peter Dutton and David Littleproud. Merry Christmas.