ADJOURNMENT

Senator POLLEY (Tasmania) (17:35): What an interesting week we've had in the Senate this week. I intended to speak about superannuation tonight, which I will get to, but I cannot resist the urge I feel, as a fellow Tasmanian senator, to address Senator Duniam's contribution tonight. When he leaves this place in a few months, I think there's a role for him on the stage.

What an act that was today! It was very sincere. I've never seen a performance quite like that one today.

As we know very well, he's leaving this place, and he, like me, is seeing the Liberal Party disappear. The strength of that party, which they've had for decades, is fading away, and they're being led by One Nation. It is really very sad to see.

Unfortunately, my father took some time to see the light and to change his vote. He was a conservative voter, so, with my family history, I know a little bit about the pride that people have had as Liberals in my home state of Tasmania. I look forward to seeing him on the stage.

It's a shame Division 4 is not still on television because, with his experience with me on the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement, he knows only too well about organised crime and the impact it's having on our country. To talk about illicit tobacco and the excise and say that the only way to remove that is to lower the price of cigarettes is very short sighted.

All they're trying to do is outbid One Nation. But that's enough on that. I'm sure we'll have some more performances from Jonno before he leaves this chamber.

We will miss him because, if nothing else, he is entertaining and a decent person. On superannuation, what I find remarkable is that, again, we see One Nation leading the Liberals and the Nationals around by the nose, attacking what is fundamentally so critically important to Australian workers and suggesting that it is a good thing to allow people to raid their superannuation, which is supposed to be there for their retirement, and that that somehow is doing them a favour.

Each and every time the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation had the opportunity to support real tax cuts for Australian workers, to support the cheaper medicines that we brought into this country, which are helping families, to support the changes we made to women's health—it is Women's Health Week—to support the investment we made in Medicare urgent care clinics or to support our wage rises, ensuring that people who work in aged care and early childhood education get a decent wage in this country, they voted against them.

Those opposite did nothing when they were in government. For 10 years, they did nothing at all. They didn't do anything about smoking rates during that time, I might add.

They don't support TAFE and what we've done to invest in skills. There's so much to talk about in terms of the things that those opposite could have done to support Australian workers and Australian families, but they voted against them. In fact, let's not forget that, before the last federal election, the policy of the Liberals was to increase taxation in this country.

They come in here when it politically suits them, when they're trying to outbid One Nation, thinking that they're going to get some votes. I think, to some extent, the Nationals have given up because they are going to become extinct. I think that's a sad day, because I would rather see a strong conservative opposition than one that is led by One Nation.

They are committing such a terrible crime against Australian workers. People work cleaning offices, in supermarkets, in aged care, caring for vulnerable older Australians, in early childhood education—which has taken more than a decade to get people to accept and to acknowledge that they are early childhood educators, not babysitters. And now, when we've increased their wages, wanting to support them to be able to support themselves in retirement, we've got the coalition over there, a new triple coalition with One Nation leading the pack— (Time expired) Senate adjourned at 17:40