MATTERS OF URGENCY
Senator SHOEBRIDGE (New South Wales) (18:01): What I never hear in this debate is how anyone is going to materially improve the lives of people here. They phrase this debate about housing, about wages—never do they put forward how they're going to take on the one per cent and make people's lives better. The parties in here—Labor, One Nation and those of the coalition—and their ultrawealthy backers have targeted migrants repeatedly over decades of underinvestment in housing, public health and core services because migrants are an easy distraction for them and their billionaire backers.
Migrants don't tend to be massively rich. Some are, but they don't tend to be. Many of them don't vote, and they're just the perfect scapegoat for a political class that refuses to take on the ultrawealthy, so One Nation and Labor are more than happy to gang up on them.
We'll see the same thing tomorrow when Minister Burke stands up, with One Nation grinning over his shoulder. We know it's all dog whistling. We've actually lived through an experience of net negative migration.
During COVID, Australia's population went down—and Australia's house prices rose by more than 20 per cent in just 18 months. Everyone forgets that because it disturbs the narrative. Let's be clear.
Your mum's friend from the Philippines who's an emergency nurse at the local hospital had no say over how much of the federal budget went into public housing or health. The family down on the corner who run the grocery shop aren't in cabinet when the government decides to cut NDIS funding. Your friend's partner who moved from Canada to get married wasn't on the phone to Albanese telling him to fast-track AI.
The bloke in your local football team who fled war in Iraq wasn't in charge of setting interest rates. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Blyth ): Sorry, Senator Shoebridge; we have a point of order from Senator Polley. Senator Polley: The senator should be referring to people in the other place by their correct titles.
The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Polley. Senator Shoebridge, could you please refer to those in the other place by their titles. Senator SHOEBRIDGE: Here's a secret: we all have a lot more in common with someone who came to Australia to be united with their loved ones or flee an oppressive government than we do with the ultrawealthy and the one per cent.
We won't fall for it. Australia is proudly multicultural, but it does need to be fairer, and that requires solidarity.