John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have not sung the words; I have merely read them into the Hansard. The third verse goes on:

I’m opposed to it—

On general principles I’m opposed to it!

The third verse finishes with some perfect lyrics which my friends in the Liberal Party can take to the party room when it meets tomorrow morning. This is the chorus:

  He’s opposed to it!

In fact, in word, in deed,

He’s opposed to it!

I would commend any interested senator, or anybody else who might like to take a closer look at this, to listen to Groucho Marx perform the original in Horse Feathers. It is just uncanny if you shut your eyes and listen. You would think it was not Groucho Marx 80 years ago but that it is Tony Abbott today. That is the Liberal Party for you. On the other hand, the government is continually doing what is necessary to keep Australia's economy strong, to look to the future, to provide opportunity to all, to have the determination to do what is right, even if there are some costs from time to time in short-term popularity.

Look at what has happened in the last few weeks. The government has finalised national health reform arrangements which will deliver a better deal for patients including a $16.4 billion investment in the health system. Also the government has made great progress in major reform of disability services in Australia to lay the foundation of a national disability insurance scheme. The Productivity Commission has recommended that, like Medicare, Aust­ralians should be insured against significant disability. The government has taken up that report and has committed an additional $10 billion this year to build the foundations for reform. And in aged care, the government has released the 2011 Productivity Commission report Caring for Older Australians. The government is determined to make the necessary reforms to our aged care system as part of a broader aged care agenda that will deliver positive outcomes for older Australians and also for those who care for them. In the face of relentless negativity, I would say the government continues to do what is necessary to keep Australia's economy strong and to make positive reforms for the future.