Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, we are in government. Guess what? We are fixing it, and this is part of the process. There needs to be a drop of reality on the other side. Running a country is like running a business. We need to be completely focused on helping our constituents at all times instead of making a public debacle of their lives. What you have done is very, very wrong. I am not happy with the way things were done, and I am sure I know how to calculate. If you have a hundred constituents that you need to help, that is less than one in 1,000 people in your electorate, and it is our job to assist them. If there is a problem, you go to the minister and you help fix it. That is our job in every aspect of what we do.

I am sure that, for every person you have represented in parliament today—through the Acting Deputy Speaker—you have permission for that particular public thing. Even though there is privilege in here, you have actually exposed their life to public criticism, particularly when that person still owes money. I personally would not like any of my constituents to be exposed that way.

I really think we need a concerted effort to work together on this situation. We are running a country. There is a debt to be paid back. There is a system in place. I want all of those in my electorate who are entitled to government income support to be able to earn that government income support and to be able to exist on it. What do I say to this person here who should be getting income support when they have a neighbour who they know should not be getting that income support? This is all part of the process of balancing the payments, making sure people feel safe and secure in their income support and that this government is doing the right thing by those who are absolutely entitled to be getting support. (Time expired)

See this speech in context