Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The minister for aged care asks me: who's been kicked out of the ALP? A lady called Senator Payman. Did you forget about Senator Payman, who had the temerity to talk in caucus with a different opinion to the Prime Minister and had the temerity to vote with her conscience in the Senate? How dare a member of the government have a conscience and choose what they would like to do, Minister for Aged Care! What happened when Senator Payman exercised her conscience? She did not leave; she was kicked out. She was told, 'You cannot sit with the ALP anymore because you do not follow orders.' So it is crucial that the opposition be able to hold this bad government to account because there is no-one within that caucus that will hold the government to account.

Let's use another example: gambling reform. Let's talk about the Murphy report. The member for Bennelong is prepared to put a few statements out there publicly about the importance of gambling reform. The member for Macarthur has said—and I want to commend the member for Macarthur; he's had the courage repeatedly, last term and this term, to speak out about this government without voting against them—that if the Murphy report and gambling reform went to a conscience vote it would pass this House. They are the words of the member for Macarthur. Do you need better evidence and proof of why you need an opposition with the ability to hold the government to account? This caucus does not have the courage of their convictions to vote on a private member's bill about gambling reform to honour Peta Murphy and to honour the Murphy report. They know that if they do, they will follow Senator Payman out of the ALP and out of the government. This is the challenge that we have here, being able to hold this government to account.

At 2.30 today, they know that the Australian people are going to be let down again. What has happened with this Treasurer is he has continued to pour fuel on the economic fire of inflation and he has made it worse. He promised the Australian people that he had slayed the inflation dragon. There is one country in the world where inflation and interest rates are going up, and that's Australia. These are the examples of why the coalition needs these questions, why the Liberal Party and why the non-opposition members need these questions to hold this government to account. I support the motion moved by the member for Mitchell.

See this speech in context