Sam Dastyari (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy President, can I begin by saying I have not had the opportunity to congratulate you on your elevation to the role of Deputy President of this place. I think it is now the 'Chair of Committees', not the 'Chairman of Committees'. I think that is a change you have begun.

The answers that were given today by Senator Brandis were extraordinary in their lack of detail and lack of knowledge of the matters that were asked about and that we were there to discuss. I want to quote what the Prime Minister himself—let me reword that: 'the Prime Minister for now'—Mr Malcolm Turnbull, said at the Business Council of Australia dinner last week. He said that, under the coalition government, economic reforms would result in 'winners and losers'. The questions that were asked today were specifically about identifying who these losers under the Turnbull government are going to be, because when millionaires are given a $17,000-a-year tax cut they are clearly not the losers of this system. When big business are given a $50 billion tax cut, they are not the ones who seem to be losing out of this. No; the losers seem to be couples with single incomes of $65,000 or less and three children in primary school. They are $3,000 a year worse off. Are they the losers that Mr Turnbull was referring to in his Business Council address? I refer to the Turnbull government's May budget, in which a single mother with an income of $87,000 and two children in high school is over $4,000 worse off. This is becoming a game of winners and losers. One group seems to be winning and one group seems to be losing.

Senator O'Sullivan interjecting—

I will take that interjection.

Senator O'Sullivan interjecting—

No, I will take that interjection from the good senator from Queensland. I note that when I asked my second question of Senator Brandis today, he could barely be heard over the jeers that were coming from the other side of the chamber in what was nothing more than a relentless and unfair attack on my hairstyle.

Senator O'Sullivan interjecting—

Let me be clear: we cannot all be as fortunate as Senator Hinch, who is in this chamber today. We may all try to aspire to have what Senator Hinch has, but none of us can be that fortunate and none of us can be that lucky.

I want to quickly praise Dennis Shanahan from The Australian,who came out and defended me when I was unfairly attacked by James Jeffrey in The Australian. I know what it is like to be persecuted and I am sick and tired of being objectified in this place. But I digress—and I note that Senator Lines chose to use this as an appropriate moment to leave the chair.

Senator Hinch interjecting—

Senator Hinch, I was praising you a moment ago. The answers given today, the comments made today and the responses made today show a complete lack of knowledge and understanding of the true challenges that are being faced at an economic level—the challenges that are being faced in this system of winners and losers. What I fear is that the losers in this economy and the losers from these reforms that the Prime Minister was talking about are some of the lowest paid people and those who are struggling the most. The Australians who need the most assistance are those who are being left behind. A handful of very fortunate Australians are prospering and doing very well out of all of this, but they are not the majority. I think this chamber deserves better than the answers that Senator Brandis gave today.