Economy
Transcript
Ms WARE (Hughes) (15:52): I note that the member for Fraser started with a quote from Mark Twain. Mark Twain, of course, had a number of quotes. He also had one that said, 'It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you're a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.' Similarly, when the member for Fraser is saying we are somehow talking about statistics, I will tell you right now, Member for Fraser, there is a difference between numbers and statistics. There's a difference between facts and statistics. These are two facts. These are numbers— MPMs WARE: I note the interjection from the member for Paterson. I wonder how many of the 1,364 insolvencies we have had in a month were from the electorate of Paterson and I wonder how many of the 24,700 businesses that have gone under under this government were from the electorate of Paterson. Quite a lot of them have been from my electorate in Hughes in the south and south-west of Sydney. That is because, in my electorate, there are a lot of construction companies. There are a lot of tradies, and they have been doing it very tough under this Albanese Labor government. This government talks about its bold, ambitious plan to build 1.2 million houses, but, underlying that, they have not provided any avenue. I have not heard one member on that side talk about how they are going to get more roofers, more tilers, more electricians, more plumbers and more bricklayers.
MPMs WARE: 'Fee-free TAFE' I hear from the member for Eden-Monaro. Fee-free TAFE, Member for Eden-Monaro, does not even go partly towards addressing the massive skills shortages that we have in the construction trade. I know it. Go out and speak to some of the construction companies in your electorate— MPMs WARE: Deputy Speaker, could I be allowed to finish? Go out and speak to some of them in your electorate—
MPMs McBain: My husband's a plumber.
MPMs WARE: Yes, and my son's about to be a plumber, but what are you doing about getting more roofers?
There are other issues that I'm hearing about in my electorate. I'm hearing from government members that they are doing a lot for families, but I'll tell you what the presidents of the sporting clubs in my electorate are telling me. They are saying that the families can't afford $1,000 in registration fees, whether that was for soccer, rugby league, netball, softball or cricket. They come up quietly to these presidents because they are embarrassed because, for the first time in their lives, families and parents are saying, 'We can't afford to pay for our kids to play sport because we've just had to pay'—for example—'an energy bill.' We're hearing that renewables are the cheapest form of energy. I'll you what: in my electorate, they don't believe it. In the south-west of Sydney, they know it's not true, and they know it's not true on your side as well. They are saying the same things to you in your electorates that they are saying to me. When families in Australia can't afford to be putting their kids into sport, they can't afford to be putting their kids into child care. They are taking them out of child care in my electorate. They are begging grandparents to look after them. They are trying everything else because they can't afford childcare places. When I hear members on this side talking about statistics, it's simply not true that we are just talking about statistics. We are talking about real people, we're talking about real families and we are talking about a Labor government that is the worst this country has ever seen—not just the worst Labor government but the worst government full stop. We must get this country back on track under a Dutton-led government.