Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

Hang on. So here we have Senator McAllister having just stabbed her leader in the back, because she's just voted against Labor Party policy. Yesterday, out of the caucus came the Labor Party, including the Leader of the Labor Party and the shadow Treasurer, and they said, 'We will move to remove phases 2 and 3 of this long-term tax relief plan. Well, guess what: Senator McAllister has just voted in support of both stages 1 and 2, in complete conflict with the stated Labor Party position. She doesn't even realise that she has voted that way. Senator McAllister just shakes her head. Well, that is precisely what you've done: instead of putting your preferred position forward in front of the Senate chamber today, instead of coming in here with a policy that your Labor caucus allegedly adopted and trying to get majority support for the position that you adopted, you came in here with a position of another party. So clearly, somewhere overnight, the Labor Party position has shifted. Yesterday you only supported stage 1 and you were opposed to stages 2 and 3. Today you have voted—including you, Senator McAllister—for stages 1 and 2. That is the reality of it.

Senator McAllister interjecting—

Are you saying that you did not vote in favour of stages 1 and 2? You did. That is the implication. The implication of supporting the removal of stage 3 only is that you are now supporting stages 1 and 2. It makes absolutely no sense for you not to have tried to get your policy tested in the Senate. You didn't test it in the Senate. You did not even try. Yesterday, with lots of fanfare, there were Bill Shorten and the shadow Treasurer, Chris Bowen, saying, 'We are opposed to stages 2 and 3.' But here you're coming in now and endorsing stage 2. You're endorsing it. Senator Wong is shaking her head. That is precisely the implication of what the Labor Party has done in the chamber here today. The Labor Party has now shifted from just 1 to 1 and 2. If we keep this debate going for a bit longer, I'm sure that Labor will come all the way with the Liberal and National Party coalition to 1, 2 and 3. Try it! One, then 1 and 2; if we keep going a bit longer—we know that Bill Shorten is the wibble-wobble man—we get to 1, 2 and 3. Just go back to the Labor caucus. Say, 'We've already rolled over on our opposition to stage 2. We have voted for an amendment that locks in stage 2.'

Progress reported.