Corinne Mulholland (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

For those tuning in at home this afternoon, they might have been a little mistaken that they'd wandered into an episode of Antiques Roadshow and not the Senate question time. But here we were. Was the first question off the bat from the Liberal Party today about cost-of-living relief? No, it wasn't. Was it about housing? No, not even close. Was it about health? No, you'd be coming up short again. It was about vintage cars, collectable cars, and personalised number plates. The burning issue for the modern Liberal Party coming into this question time today wasn't about Australians struggling to get into a home of their own and wasn't about Australians struggling with the cost of living. It was about Australians worried about their vintage cars, their collectable cars, their personalised number plates, their vintage jewellery, their watches.

While young Australians can't get into a home of their own—cannot get a foot on the property ladder—when older Australians are struggling to hold on to their rentals due to the rising cost of rentals, this lot are talking about vanity plates on collectable cars and vintage Rolexes. Nothing says the modern Liberal Party quite like personalised number plates. Honestly! If an out of touch vehicle had a number plate, that would be it.

We also heard a lot of mock outrage from the opposition during question time regarding the passage of these Treasury laws through the Senate. There was much talk about an agreement. We would all love to see the modern Liberal Party be able to get an agreement on anything—anything! They can't even get internal agreement in the coalition, let alone on the Senate floor. We know they've had a chequered history—on again, off again, on again—and I would be really annoyed, too, if I was the party of business, the party of commerce, and I was being outclassed by the Australian Greens on the ability to do a deal. I'd be a little annoyed about it, too, because we all know the Liberal Party couldn't even pass a note in class, let alone a piece of legislation in this Senate. They have been unable to come to the table on a single piece of legislation in this parliament.

It's a bit rich to hear the Liberal Party talking about us changing positions on anything. This is a party that cannot land a consistent position from breakfast to lunchtime on net zero. This is a party that takes more positions on that issue than a Bikram yoga class, so we're not going to sit here and be lectured to by that lot about changing positions. In fact, there are frontbenchers in this very chamber who promised the Australian people and the media that, if their party walked away from net zero, they would walk away from the front bench. But they're still here lobbing up on the front bench, pretending that none of us remember what they said. But we do and we do keep receipts.

But this week, this chamber gets a chance to come one step closer to delivering a tax system that gives a fair go for all—I know that those opposite can't stand the thought of a system that tips the scales in favour of working people and that gives working Australians an opportunity to get into a house of their own—to deliver a fifth round of tax cuts: $2,800 in the back pocket of working Australians. When they vote against these tax cuts, they are voting against 14 million Australians getting a tax cut.