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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-04-02 Daily Xml
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Dutton, Hon. P.C.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (15:30): Thank you, Acting President. It is difficult to follow that brief contribution from the honourable member. I rise to speak today on a matter that will be of interest to all South Australians who care about the future of our country, and that is the risk posed by a Dutton prime ministership. It is clear that this man is not fit to be our prime minister.

Let's consider his record. When he was health minister, he was a real dud. A poll conducted by doctors in Australian Doctor magazine voted him the worst health minister in Australia in 35 years. Let's not forget that this is the guy who came up with the idea of a Medicare co-payment. What would he do if he got his hands on our Medicare system again?

As Minister for Home Affairs, he was an absolute disaster. Let's not forget the case of a Tamil family, the Murugappans, who were awarded $200,000 in costs after it was found that they had been denied due process by the government, one of a series of failures in his portfolio.

He also has a terrible track record in terms of fanning the flames of racism and division in our country. This is the bloke who boycotted Kevin Rudd's apology to the stolen generations back in 2008. He recently called for a ban on all Palestinian refugees from Gaza. He says, 'We should stop people coming in from war zones.' Really? This is the way that Australia should treat vulnerable people who are in trouble, who need our help?

He says he will not stand in front of the Aboriginal flag if he is elected. And let's not forget the ugly misinformation campaign he ran against the Voice to Parliament. Shame on those in this place who aided and abetted that dishonest campaign.

What about his policies? I say 'policies', but they are really more thought bubbles, because they are so ill-conceived. His nuclear plan: the Climate Council has done the costings and found that it will cost up to $490 billion, more than the Liberal Party are claiming. In fact, it could cost up to $821 billion. As a result of this ill-conceived plan, South Australians could see our electricity prices increasing by $665 a year on average, a price rise of $972 a year for a family of four.

What about tax reform? What is his policy? They say there is no such thing as a free lunch—not under the Liberals, if they get back in, because they want to bring back free business lunches. Who is picking up the bill? It is the Australian taxpayer. They would allow businesses to deduct up to $20,000 for meals and entertainment, and Treasury estimates the average cost will be $1.6 billion a year, up to $10 billion a year. What a waste of money in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.

Let's not forget about their workplace reform agenda. They want to scrap the right to disconnect. They want to force public servants back into the office five days a week—no exceptions, no working from home—and they want to cut 41,000 public servant jobs. How many South Australians will lose their jobs under Dutton? How long will the wait time be for public services under Mr Dutton?

Let's not forget the pièce de résistance of the Liberal Party's plan for office: another costly referendum. The last time they pushed for a national vote was on the issue of marriage equality, when they could have done the vote in the parliament. This time, they want to bring Australians to the polls on whether or not we should give the government the power to strip away citizenship rights, so that we can set up a second-class citizen regime in our country where people who have dual citizenship and are born overseas are at the mercy of politicians.

This Temu Trump is not fit to be prime minister of our country. Does anyone seriously think Peter Dutton has the fortitude to stand up to Donald Trump and advocate for our national interest? A Dutton prime ministership means job cuts, longer wait times for public services, higher energy prices, and more racism and division in our country. We cannot afford to risk Mr Dutton.

One of the key safeguards against Dutton getting in is the Greens winning the seat of Sturt, and our candidate Katie McCusker is campaigning hard. No-one knows who the local member is in James Stevens. You have Doctor No with Peter Dutton and Doctor Who in James Stevens, because no-one knows who he is or what he stands for. Let's keep the Liberals out.

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