Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

The answer is no. I've told him that privately—and now publicly! Let me say, the two senators that you just referenced, what an amazing bunch of people they are. What great senators they are. Do you know what? Not only are they great senators for the states of New South Wales and Victoria; they're part of a great team. They're part of a team which is building a stronger economy, which is creating better opportunities for Australians to get ahead.

They're part of a team of people that were elected by the Australian people to again form a government. Do you know why that is? Because people across Australia understood that it was our team that would help build a stronger economy. It would be our team that would help create more jobs. It will be our team that will help ensure that Australians can be safe and secure. They understood and they rejected the politics of envy pursued by the Labor Party. They rejected the high-taxing, antibusiness, sneering-at-the-top-end-of-town agenda, which Australians understood would have made our economy weaker, would have made our country weaker and would have left every Australian worse off.

I'm very proud of every single member of our team here in the Senate. Let me tell you, they all make a fantastic contribution in their respective states and as part of our team here in this chamber. All of us are entitled to our individual views, but we act as a team and we act in the public interest, consistent with the commitments we made to the Australian people before the last election.