Nita Green (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

Acting Deputy President Polley, may I say Merry Christmas. We are very close to the end of the year, and children around the country will be finding out from Santa Clause if they're on the naughty or nice list this Christmas. It's an opportunity to talk about the things that might land you on either of these lists. We know that the Albanese Labor government has given the opposition every opportunity to do the right thing, to back good reforms and to do things that would make lives better for Australians—reforms that would have landed them on the 'nice' list. But, every step of the way, every time they've had a collapse to support positive change, they've blocked, delayed or voted against it.

Let's take a quick look at their record—and trust me, I have checked this list twice. Remember when they wanted to take the country to an election over tax cuts for every single taxpayer? They dug in their heels against higher minimum wages for the lowest-paid in the country. They're against 'same job, same pay'. They're against pay rises for aged-care workers. The coalition are even against cheaper medicines. They voted six times in the Senate to stop Australians getting access to cheaper medicines. They are also against making sure that Australians earn more and keep more of what they earn. That would have got them on the 'nice' list, for sure, but they didn't take that chance. They're against urgent care clinics and 24-hour nurses in aged care. They're against tripling the bulk-billing incentive. And while they're against that, we're delivering better health care for Australians across the country. They voted against energy bill relief and, of course, they voted against everything to do with housing ever. Maybe they thought that Santa or the Australian people weren't watching during those divisions. Finally, they're against fee-free TAFE. Believe it or not, the LNP candidate for Leichhardt even went as far as to say TAFE is a 'waste'. I wish those people in Far North Queensland a merry Christmas. (Time expired)