Raff Ciccone (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

What an exciting day it has been here in Canberra. But, more importantly, in my home state of Victoria, it has been an equally if not more exciting day, being Melbourne Cup day, with the race that stops the nation. It's hard not to ignore another race that seems to have stopped, and that is the coalition's race to net zero, which has slowed to a canter. At Flemington Racecourse at least the horses gallop in the same direction, but, over in the coalition's paddock, the Nationals have bolted, the Liberals are horsing around and the poor opposition leader is left jockeying for position, trying to convince everyone that this chaos is all part of her cunning plan.

The Nationals dumped their net zero target over the weekend, as you may have seen in the media. Apparently climate policy has now proven to be so hard for them that they've ditched their saddle and trotted home. Really, the only zero that they're committed to now is zero unity and zero credibility. Meanwhile, the Liberals have pulled up in the mounting yard, trying to ride two horses at once—one called climate action and the other called party division—while holding their form guide upside down, unsure whether to stick with the Nationals or back another horse altogether.

The Greens, God bless them, would replace the horses with solar powered scooters, ban the betting and then argue over which lane is the most sustainable. But at least they know which way they are headed.

Then there are those who are connected to the Nup to the Cup crew, the only people in Australia who can look the public in the eye and be against a public holiday that is filled with community spirit and actually say, 'No, thank you. We don't want that.' They'd cancel the race, close the gates and put thousands of people out of work. For them it's less about animal welfare and more about being out of touch and having the belief that only they get to decide what is acceptable. Somehow, Australians simply enjoying a bit of sport and sunshine—and, let's be honest, a bet or two—has become the greatest offence.

While the others have lost their reins and keep arguing over there in the stables about who's wearing the silks, federal Labor's actually getting on with the race. We're backing clean energy, secure jobs and a fair go for every single person right across the country. So, today, as the barriers fly open and the others are still flogging a dead horse to find their pace, let's back the only team that is on track, and that is federal Labor. Happy Melbourne Cup day, everyone. Giddy-up!