Ralph Babet (Victoria, United Australia Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese government is tanking in the polls. We all know that. And who is surprised? Not me. Australians will forgive mistakes, incompetence and even the occasional bad policies, but Australians will not forgive being treated like fools.

Before the election, we were assured that there would be no changes to capital gains tax arrangements. Then came proposals and negotiations that left us concluding that perhaps the Prime Minister's greatest strength is duplicity. One Nation began a Fire the Liar campaign that raised millions of dollars from ordinary people during a cost-of-living crisis. Many of these people had never donated to a political party before, but they just wanted to express how upset and angry they were.

And how did the PM respond? He went and broke another promise. Australians were repeatedly told by the PM that the government would not do deals with the Greens—no arrangements, no horsetrading and no dependence on a party that long ago abandoned environmentalism. And yet here we are. The remarkable thing is not that the Prime Minister has chosen to work with the Greens. We kind of always knew he would. The remarkable thing is that the Prime Minister, having made a reputation, in my opinion, for breaking his word, now figures he may as well just keep going.

The public, meanwhile, are paying close attention. They notice that there's a gap between words and actions; they notice when promises quietly disappear; they notice when the Prime Minister changes his position; and, most importantly, they notice when a leader asks them to believe that today's assurance is golden after yesterday's assurance turned out to be worthless. Do you know what? When leaders lose trust and when they lose respect, that is when they fall, and the Prime Minister, by his own hand, no longer has either.