House debates Matters of Public Importance
Albanese Government
Kevin Hogan Page, National Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House
3:42 pm
I think the scary thing about all that is that I actually believe in the good intentions of those opposite. When they say how well things are going and how well they're doing, they actually believe it. That, to me, is actually terrifying. They actually think they have done a good job. They actually think the decisions they have made over the last—they're coming up to five years in government. They actually think the legislation they've passed, the taxes they've increased, the decisions they've made around energy, the decisions they've made around migration—the decisions they've made around all these things—are actually making things better or have made things better.
Does anyone on the other side seriously think that things are better for anyone, any family, any business today than they were 4½ years ago? Give me a call and tell me who they are because I want to work out how they think that or why they think that with what's going on with their own budgets, with their business or whatever. We all know, and I think those opposite actually do believe in their heart of hearts that things are a lot worse today than they were 4½ years ago. I actually believe they know that. They don't say that. They don't ever admit it in here, but they know that's the truth.
Now, I'll give them one thing. Not everything that happens in an economy is the government's fault. I will give them that. What you say around oil, what you say around other things around the world—some of those things a government can't control. I acknowledge that. But, gee, you've got to acknowledge that people, businesses and family budgets are worse than they were 4½ years ago. I don't always have to yell like those opposite—for the other side. They know that. I know that.
But I'm just going to highlight a few decisions that this government has made—that you have made. You've all been part of it. You've all been part of these decisions, and you've actually made it worse.
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