Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Hansard source

It was a perfect record of fiscal vandalism, as my friend the member for Kooyong says. In 2007 we also heard from the opposition, as it then was, led by Mr Rudd, that he promised a very hard line on the question of people-smuggling, a very tough line on the question of people-smuggling. The result was an opening of the doors to 50,000 people, and 1,100 souls, 1,100 lives, 1,100 people who would never live to see another day in what is undoubtedly not just the greatest backflip but the greatest peacetime policy failure in Australian history. So for the party on the other side in some way to talk about trust in regard to what they said before an election, as opposed to what occurs after an election, is a moment of intellectual sickness.

Then we also had this again famous promise from the then opposition, 'On many occasions for many months federal Labor has made it crystal clear that we are committed to retaining all of the existing private health insurance rebates.' What did they do? In the 2009 budget the Labor government announced that the 30 per cent rebate would be means tested, a classic broken promise on the basis of saying one thing categorically—locked in, pledged in blood, pledged before the Australian people—and then doing precisely the opposite thing after the election.

To top it off, Kevin Rudd declared before the election, 'The government will have no intention to bring in other taxes.' However, the following year in 2010 his government introduced nine new taxes. They were cutting the superannuation tax-free threshold; putting restrictions on business loans; making changes to the employee share scheme; introducing imposts with the mining tax, the ethanol taxation increase and the LPG excise increase; tightening restrictions on medical expenses before claiming them; increasing the luxury car tax—and a range of other broken promises.

Ultimately we had the Leader of the Opposition making pledges in blood before the Australian people of his undying love for Julia Gillard and how he could never challenge her. Unfortunately, something happened on the way and he did challenge her—just as every other promise was broken. This opposition can never ever be trusted while these people are in charge. (Time expired)

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