Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Longman for his question and I note his outstanding maiden speech to this House and the incredible life experience he brings to this place. I would commend his speech to all members.

I was asked about alternative approaches and about how we are dealing with ourselves in this place. We used to have a Leader of the Opposition who used to agree with people when he didn't even know what they said. We now have a Leader of the Opposition who wants the Labor Party to vote for things that they don't even believe in. We on this side of the House have seen this on display since we've returned to the parliament. We have supported delivering tax relief for all working Australians so they can keep more of what they earn. The Labor Party had to be dragged kicking and screaming, and they finally voted for something that they themselves said they don't believe in. It's very clear that the Liberal and National parties are for lower taxes and the Labor Party remains committed to higher taxes.

The same was true when it came to supporting our farmers and graziers and those in rural and regional parts of the country with the drought fund. On this side of the House, we put that forward after the Drought Summit last week. The Labor Party opposed it every step of the way to the election, and then we put this bill into the House and, once again, the Labor Party had to be dragged kicking and screaming to support those in rural and regional Australia and voted again for things they don't believe in. The same was true when it came to protecting Australians against foreign terrorist fighters. The Labor Party said there were 40 amendments that needed to be in place for that bill. None of them passed and they still voted for it—voting again for things they don't believe in.

But, when we want to stop union militant thugs pushing their way around building sites around the country and when we want to make sure that workers' entitlement funds in the hundreds of millions are not siphoned off in the gravy train of union excess, that's when the Labor Party show up. That's when they say that they're going to vote for what they believe in—but they will sell the rest out. They'll get another opportunity when we come back. The workers' entitlement fund bill will come back into this place, and we'll see whose side they're on. Another bill that's going to come back into this place is on drug testing to ensure that our welfare system has integrity and that we support Australians who are trying to get off welfare and into work. Just like with the cashless debit card, we will see that, when it comes to these issues, Labor are not for taxpayers, nor are they for people who want to get off welfare and get to work.

The member for Longman knows this: that, if you have a go, you get a go in this country. And the member for Longman knows this: that you don't have to hold people back to let others go forward. The member for Longman knows that we will never engage in Labor's politics of envy. The Australian people chose the economics of aspiration.

On that note, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.