Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

Did you really, leader of the National Party? Right now, it looks like you're splitting up again, doesn't it?

We see there is a national challenge. Everyone accepts—and we can see from those sitting behind me and that were sworn in yesterday—that addressing climate change is a very serious national issue and a national challenge. What do we see from those opposite in addressing that national challenge? The Nationals, of course, have been their ever-helpful selves for the opposition. We have two former party leaders, two former deputy prime ministers, who knocked each other off, and now they're teaming up to knock old mate off.

Honourable members interjecting—

Sorry, pardon me. The current leader of the Nationals is under attack from the two former leaders of the Nationals as well. I do feel sorry for him; we were re-elected on the same day. He's a jolly good chap—but, geez, watch out, Member for Maranoa.

We've seen the basic text of the repeal net zero bill that the member for New England is proposing to introduce. I would note that two of the bills—they're actually acts—were introduced by the Howard government. There was the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000. The now member for New England was in the Senate at the time, and I presume he supported this act when he was in the combined party room. There was also the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act, which was introduced by former prime minister John Howard, one of the overlords of the Liberal Party and the coalition, a real hero to many of those opposite.

I just want to remind those opposite what John Howard thought about the acts that the member for New England and the member for Riverina are seeking to delete from Australia's legislative regimes. He said:

This challenge, I believe, is best met by a blend of prudent conservatism and economic liberalism. A prudent conservative knows we are but temporary stewards of the environment.

That was John Howard. He knew what the national challenge was. He knew that we had to address climate change to protect the environment. It was he who said that the government would also 'introduce legislation this year for a comprehensive and streamlined national emissions and energy reporting system'. Of course they did, and of course all those opposite—maybe not the ones here right now, but certainly the Leader of the Opposition was there—voted for it.

So, let's see where this ends up on the national priorities for how the coalition deals with this nation's challenges as they once again fail to listen to the Australian people. We see that their position has not changed in that regard. Put on the noise-cancelling headphones, I say to all the Nationals and Liberals, because that's what you've been doing for the past three years, and I see we're going to look forward to another three years of the same.

The Australian people won't forget what you put them through in the recent campaign—a $600 billion nuclear power scheme that would have seen devastating cuts to Medicare and devastating cuts to education, to pensions and to the Department of Veterans' Affairs, as well as the 41,000 public servants that those opposite proposed to slash from the services to Australians. Obviously they've backflipped on that a few times. They would have axed fee-free TAFE; that would have been high on their agenda. And of course we had some weird suggestions. The referendum on deporting people was just one of the many. There was also the tax on gas exports, which I'm sure you must be very proud of; we don't hear much about that anymore.

It just goes to show the failure of those opposite, the failure of the Liberal-National coalition, to have any understanding of the challenges and priorities of the Australian people and the Australian nation. They continue to fight amongst themselves, because that's what they do best. Only the Albanese Labor government will help Australians in the cost-of-living crisis and will face national challenges head on and deliver.

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