Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for External Territories) Share this | Hansard source

We have been hearing over the last 36 hours that this has been a great year of achievement by the government. The Prime Minister has been on about it, the Minister for Education has been on about it and the Treasurer has been on about it. Let us ask ourselves about some of those achievements. What have they done? They have gutted the auto industry in this country. They have created huge lines of unemployment in the manufacturing sector and done it deliberately. They have doubled the deficit; almost within three months of coming into government, they doubled the deficit to $120 billion over the forward estimates. That is a mighty achievement! Yet they come into this place and bang on about how, somehow, the deficit is a Labor problem. The deficit is not a Labor problem. The deficit has been doubled by these clowns.

Who else have they successfully worked with? Well, of course, Australian families! Every Australian family feels grateful for this government! They feel really grateful because of what this government has done! I think not. We heard just a moment ago about the impact on working families of changes to the tax concessions for families. That is a direct impost on those families—something that you have done proudly. You know that in your electorates the Prime Minister and the Treasurer are toxic.

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