Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

We will fight for family payments. This Prime Minister is not just out of touch. With today's legislation he shows he is out of ideas and he is rapidly running out of time, and his own party knows it.

The difference is: every time this Prime Minister sees an issue, he turns it into politics about Labor. We say to the Prime Minister today: if you want to take a step forward in terms of Australian politics, if you want to take a step forward in terms of your own approval and what Australians think of your government, focus on what matters. The Labor Party is focused on what matters to Australians. We will stand up for Australian jobs. We will do something about reforming the visa system. We will stand up for Australian apprenticeships. We will make sure that we have proper, needs based funding in our schools. If you want to find some money in the budget, what we think you should do, rather than reaching down into the pockets of over one million Australian families of school-age children, is reform negative gearing, reform the capital gains tax deduction system. Do not pass on $50 billion in corporate tax cuts. If you want to find some money, go after some of the top end of town rather than going after everyone else.

The Prime Minister does not have a plan for Medicare. His only plan for Medicare is to change the salesman. That does not fill people with confidence. He also does not have a plan for housing affordability, does he? This fellow is so out of touch that his only advice to Australians is: 'Get rich parents.' That is not a housing affordability policy. We stand for Australian families. We do not support the cuts. We will back Medicare. We will make sure that housing affordability is a reality in this country.

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