Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about trust—trust that the electorate should be able to have in its elected government. Unfortunately, we are in a situation where that trust is diminishing daily, and today is another day where our trust is being tested. Lots of Australians trusted this government when they said there would be no cuts to education. Look what happened to that promise. Lots of people trusted this government that there would be no changes to higher education, and we have been in here this week debating higher education because they want to introduce $100,000 degrees. The trust is diminishing daily.

They said there would be no cuts to health and have just attacked Medicare, and now we are up to the big one—the one that every Australian family relies on to make ends meet. We are up to them not being able to be trusted on industrial relations. The Prime Minister now is saying that he has no intention of touching penalty rates. I say I do not believe you, Prime Minister, because I trusted you on other things like people in my electorate did and I know now that you did not mean those promises. You do not mean this one. Penalty rates are under attack. The minimum wage is under attack. This government does not like Australian workers. This government does not like the Australian public. That is what it has come to.

The Australian public have lost their trust in this government and in this Prime Minister like his backbenchers lost their trust in him.