Stephen Jones (Whitlam, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I saw the Prime Minister on TV this morning at a cafe. He was probably telling the staff to get a better job. You can just imagine the conversation—let me get this right—'I was a barrister, and you're just a barista.' But he's not happy, because we dared to ask how much this Prime Minister's massive share portfolio will benefit from his $80 billion tax giveaway to big business and banks. What a glass jaw! After three years of this Prime Minister obsessing over the Leader of the Opposition at every single press conference—every time he stands up, he's having a go at the Leader of the Opposition, talking about him day in, day out, and last week he was using question time to have a go at the member for Sydney's husband—now anyone who dares to criticise his out-of-touch, trickle-down economic agenda is somehow being mean spirited. It's the story of his life: one law for him; another law for the rest of us.

Well, I'll tell you what mean spirited is. Mean spirited is when you cut $14 a fortnight from pensioners. Cutting dental care for veterans is mean spirited. Cutting Sunday penalty rates is mean spirited. Taking money away from schools and hospitals and giving it to big banks is mean spirited. We're going to fight this mean-spirited, trickle-down economic agenda here and everywhere else.