GRIEVANCE DEBATE

Mr WALLACE (Fisher) (13:08): We learnt this afternoon that the Labor Party and the Greens have done a grubby, dishonest, dirty deal with each other to get these tax changes through the parliament. If anybody needed any further proof of where this government is going, today is a classic example. The government needed the assistance of the Greens, the party that is on the far left of politics, to pass these taxation laws.

The Australian people didn't vote for a Labor-Greens coalition; they voted for a Labor government—unfortunately, but we respect the will of the people. But they didn't vote for some kind of coalition between these two parties. Let's talk about the Greens for a moment.

The Greens had a choice. The Greens had a choice of working with the Liberal-National coalition by providing a longer, more detailed examination of the NDIS bill and looking at how the NDIS could more properly be reformed. The Greens talked the big talk about looking after people with disabilities.

But when the opportunity came to whack more Australians with higher taxes—$280 billion worth of additional taxes—the Greens jumped at that opportunity and dropped their aspirations to fix up what has been a disastrous NDIS under this government. The Greens talk the talk; they never walk the walk. The Greens had this opportunity to provide greater scrutiny of the government's NDIS bill, and they've just ducked it.

They have chosen to stand for higher taxes with this government. They do so at their own peril, because, for Australians, I've got to tell you: as I make my way around my electorate, this government is on the nose. In some recent surveying that I did of my community, 70 per cent of those surveyed said that they believe that the country is headed in the wrong direction—70 per cent.

If that doesn't send shivers down the spine of the government, I don't know what will. But, you see, this is the thing: the government is sitting on a 94 per cent massive mega-majority, but they have become complacent. They have become arrogant—full of hubris.

They think they are untouchable. They think that Australians are—actually, I don't think that even the most ardent Labor member would think that they've got the support of the Australian people, because they know that the Australian people will be coming after them with pitchforks at the next election on these taxation policies. Mr Dreyfus interjecting— Mr WALLACE: Well, we will soon find out.

I will take that interjection. I'd encourage the member for Isaacs, when he next wants to come on a holiday, to come up to the beautiful Sunshine Coast, enjoy our warmth in wintertime, and just see how angry people are. And they are angry.

They are angry at this government. Australians will cop a lot of things, but we won't cop it when our governments are dishonest with us. This prime minister told us that he would not introduce changes to the capital gains tax, to negative gearing, to superannuation or to trusts.

And these are exactly the sorts of changes that the government wants to introduce. Madam Deputy Speaker Payne, you should be in no doubt, and nor should any of those members opposite, that Australians are very, very upset with this government. Although it has a 94-seat majority, there are a lot of those members opposite who are—if I can channel my Monty Python—on wafer-thin majorities!

In England we saw Keir Starmer win in a landslide, just two years ago, and then we saw, just last night, that Keir Starmer had resigned and is now filling the spot until UK Labour find a replacement. Just two years ago, UK Labour won in a landslide, and I think they won on a very similar majority primary vote to what we saw here in Australia just 12 months ago in 2025.

There are very salient lessons for those members opposite out of this, because the UK and Australia are obviously very similar with our systems of government. Australians will not cop dishonesty from their governments, just as in the UK, where there have been all sorts of problems with their immigration, all sorts of problems with their energy policies, all sorts of problems with their living standards—does that ring any bells to you, Madam Deputy Speaker?

They are the sorts of challenges that we are experiencing in this country today. We were promised, in this country, by this government, that we would all be enjoying a $275 reduction in our energy prices, and we're paying 40 per cent more for our energy now, under this government. And Australians have had enough.

So, when this government comes in and says—when even the Prime Minister, in his own words, says: 'How many times have I got to tell you? Fifty times,' that he is not going to introduce these new taxes, but then does, and then refuses to acknowledge that he has been anything other than dishonest with the Australian people, then Australians have a right to be very upset with this prime minister.

Once upon a time in this country, when politicians, even in the Labor Party, if I can draw upon Peter Beattie, a former Queensland Labor premier—Peter Beattie was the master of mea culpa. When he stuffed something up, he stood up in front of the cameras and said, 'I got this wrong.' But not this prime minister—he won't even admit that he's breaking promises. He just says, 'We've changed our position.' Australians are all over this.

They know, and they will not cop it. When I make my way around my electorate of Fisher, Australians are telling me, particularly small businesses—these are the same small businesses that are feeling like this government is crunching down on them at every step of the way. These are the same people who are paying $29,000 on average for the mortgage repayments for their homes.

Unlike everyday, average mums and dads that don't have a small business, these small-business people are not only paying $29,000 a year more on their home loans than they were under a coalition government, after tax; they're also paying commensurately higher interest rates on their business loans. And, for every home energy bill they get, they're paying a lot more as well on the energy bills for their businesses.

So small businesses have never done it tougher than what they are experiencing right now under this government. That's why—and it pains me to say this, as someone who was in small business for 30-odd years before coming into this place—we have never seen a higher rate of small-business insolvency than what we are experiencing under this Albanese government. For those members opposite, who might chortle and think, 'We're sitting on a 94-seat majority; we can withstand just about anything that comes our way'—I've got news for them.

I'm sure that Keir Starmer also had similar views to what I'm hearing from those members opposite. Two years ago, Keir Starmer won in a landslide. One year ago, Labor won in a landslide.

Members opposite should not think that they are immune to those same sorts of pressures that we are seeing in the UK happening here, because the same sorts of pressures are very real. Mums and dads are hurting. Our homelessness is off the Richter scale.

So many people are doing it tough. This government is letting down people left, right and centre. They've had enough, they want a change, and they'll get it with a Liberal-National coalition government.