I want to make a brief contribution on, really, the state of the chamber today. It’s my observation that the Labor Party have been very subdued today. The Prime Minister has said that he is stunned that we are here and fighting for the Australian people. He thought he’d come here with his tired and simplistic politics and just have the whole chamber roll over. Well, I’ve got a message for the Labor Party today: we’re going to fight. We’re going to fight for the Australian people. We’re going to fight for Australian jobs that rely on our great resources industry. We’re going to fight to make sure we maintain our reputation as a country that can be relied on, as a country you can come here and do business with without having this kind of abuse of parliamentary process, which shatters all certainty for businesses.
I understand the Labor Party is shocked today that we would do this—that we would actually have the steel to stand behind our convictions. Perhaps, over the past couple of decades, or ever since the Howard government, that hasn’t happened here in Canberra enough. But this is a new opposition in this chamber today, and we will keep fighting for it.
As much as the Labor Party have escaped scrutiny today through this shocking gag—3½ hours of consideration of some of the most major changes to our economic policies in decades—I’ve got a message. It’s not going to succeed in the months ahead. We’re going to have estimates, even though you tried to get rid of those. We’re going to have inquiries. We’re going to follow you every step of the way. From right now, every price rise is on your head. Every blackout is on your head. Every family that will struggle to pay their bills will be because of the mess you are creating here today. We will not cease and rest until we get justice for the Australian people and make sure we restore our reputation as a country that can be relied upon for sensible economic policymaking.
