Alex Antic (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a disappointment we missed out on that spiel from Senator Ayres! Anyway, we'll get on with the real stuff. It actually leads me into the point I want to make today, which is that Australian politics is broken, as evidenced by that. It's not broken by a lack of promises. Every election we hear promises about glossy pledges, cheaper power, a fair go for all and listening to Australians. They're always listening to Australians. Yet, once the votes are counted, we get the same timid theatre in this place.

What this building actually lacks is courage, moral clarity and a serious grasp of the forces that are reshaping this world beyond our shores. This building is entirely focused on itself. In fact, this very week the people in this building spent almost an entire sitting day lecturing an elected senator about what she was wearing in this chamber after they denied her the right to speak about her own bill, which is a common thing for this government. The people in this building speak in focus-group-style language while energy costs choke Australian households and young people inherit a nation that borrows from them in order to pay for today. This is a parliament filled with weathervanes, not compasses.

I can tell you that pointing this out from the sidelines doesn't do anything at the moment. Complaining from the pub, on talkback radio or in furious posts on social media doesn't cost anything, and it achieves less. If you're tired of watching the slow-motion decline of this country, as I am, the responsibility is actually yours. Marches are all fine, but getting involved in politics is more important, because democracy is not a spectator sport. This country was built by people who refused to accept mediocrity, and the country can be reclaimed, but it's not going to be reclaimed with you sitting on your couch at home.