Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Sometimes five minutes in the Australian Senate is longer than five minutes everywhere else in the country, and what we just saw was a very torturous five minutes from Senator Gallacher, but I thank you for your effort! What we had from Senator Watt was an application form. Senator Watt was trying to apply to join the cross bench. There's no-one in this place who was trying to announce a conspiracy theory about the events of yesterday in the coalition more than Senator Watt. He got an important fact wrong. He said the meeting started at 9 pm. It started at 7.30 pm—a very reasonable time for coalition party meetings to occur on a Monday. It's not a surprise. They happen more frequently than people might know about. So Senator Watt, in an effort to try and create a conspiracy where there is no conspiracy, did himself great detriment. But, to be fair to Senator Watt, he is a new senator and he is from Queensland, so we shouldn't be too harsh!

There's been a lot of talk this afternoon about former Prime Ministers. We've heard talk about former Prime Minister Abbott; we've heard talk about former Prime Minister Turnbull. We even had Senator Abetz talking about former Prime Ministers Hawke and Keating. I will come back in a moment to what Paul Keating has had to say about Bill Shorten, because that is very, very revealing.

There is a powerful reason why senators on the opposite side want to talk about the affairs of the Liberal Party that took place last night. I might just reflect on those briefly. The reason Labor senators want to talk about the events of last night is that they want to hide from the fact, from the scrutiny, of what their policies might mean for the Australian economy and for Australian families and businesses.

What happened last night? The Liberal Party took a very sensible decision. It decided to reflect back to the Australian people what the Australian people have been asking for—that is, that the Australian people want to have the first and final decisions when it comes to electing Prime Ministers. So Scott Morrison with his leadership team and with the whips, of which I am one, made a decision to reflect back to the Australian community exactly what they want. There is no doubt that that will bring about some stability.

People will not be surprised to learn that, with Senator Stoker, I am someone who had some caution, some trepidation, about that. I am someone who is concerned about, or interested in, the long-term consequences of these sorts of rule changes for our party. But the facts are these: there was a discussion and a consensus was reached. Importantly, I think, over the medium term that will be taken as a sign by many in the community that the coalition is interested in returning to stability. My concerns about the rule change I have shared with my colleagues. There is no need to enunciate them in this place any further.

Let's talk about Labor for a brief moment. What you will not hear from Senator Kitching, if she makes a contribution shortly, and what you will not hear from Senator Keneally, if she makes a contribution shortly, is their plan for tax increases. Senator Cormann was quite right in question time today when he said Australians will face a very clear choice at the next election. They will face a choice between Scott Morrison, and his plan for a stronger economy, and Bill Shorten, and his plan for a weaker economy. You can't grow the economy if you are going to increase taxes in the way that Labor senators like Senator Keneally from New South Wales want to increase taxes.

Senator Keneally interjecting—

There we go! Senator Keneally doesn't want to talk about taxes. Senator Keneally, what are Labor's seven deadly taxes? There is a $70 billion wage tax, to name one; a $7 billion budget repair levy, to name a second; new taxes on property, worth $29 billion, to name a third; new taxes for retirees, to name a fourth; a superannuation tax, to name a fifth; new taxes on family businesses, to name a sixth; and, of course, increased taxes on electricity.

You're not safe under Labor. If you're concerned about economic growth, if you want to give families and businesses some confidence in the future, the choice in May next year—between Scott Morrison and the coalition government and Bill Shorten and a Labor government—is stark. As a result of the decision taken by Liberals last night, if you elect Scott Morrison you will get Scott Morrison for the term of the next government. And I'll be voting for Scott Morrison, just to be very clear about that.