Senator URQUHART (Tasmania—Deputy Opposition Whip in the Senate) (15:22): Well, here we are. Senator Williams talks about being honest. What a joke! Senator Williams: What have I ever been dishonest about? Senator URQUHART: Can I just remind you that, before the election, the Prime Minister of Australia went to the people with a proposition. That proposition was, if I recall, no cuts to health, no cuts to education, no cuts to pensions, no change to the GST and no cuts to the ABC or SBS. Remember all that? And now we have those opposite talking to us about honesty. I cannot believe it. The Australian people listened to what the Abbott government said at the time prior to the election. Senator Williams: They weren't in government then. Senator URQUHART: But they are now. The Abbott government are there now. Mr Abbott went to the election as the opposition leader, Senator Williams, on the basis that he told the Australian people there would be no cuts to education, no cuts to health, no cuts to pensions, no change to the GST and no cuts the ABC or SBS. But how they have quickly turned their backs on those promises and turned around completely to betray the Australian people that voted them in on the fact that those promises would be honoured. The Australian people voted this government in on the basis that they accepted that those promises given prior to the election would be kept. But, no; we have seen the cuts to health, we have seen the cuts to pension, we have seen the cuts to education and all the attempts to undermine all those promises. In fact, in getting the keys to the ministerial wing it did not take those opposite long before they changed their agenda completely and backed away from all of those promises. They completely backflipped. They had broken promises and bad policy in the area of health. That is what this appalling, sneaky and mean Abbott government have done. Firstly, what did they do with hospitals? They ripped $50 billion out of hospitals in last year's budget. Then they attempted—not once, not twice—three times to levy a GP tax on Australian people. Senator Conroy: How many? Senator URQUHART: Three times, Senator Conroy. Three times they attempted to bring in a tax on the sickest people in our community. For that first point of health care, where people go and need assistance, they go to their GP. But, no; what did this mob over there want to do? They wanted to tax them. They wanted them to pay to seek medical advice at that very pivotal point when people get health care. So none of that worked. The $7 GP tax on all patients did not work. Then we had the $5 GP tax on non-concessional patients and then a $20 cut in rebates for short visits. Each time, what was the reason we were told? It was because they needed to make Medicare sustainable. But that was despite the fact that the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's report shows that Australian health expenditure was actually growing. It was growing at its lowest level since records began 30 years ago. But, no; this mob wanted to cut it. They have stood up here today and said they have a green paper, it is a draft and it is going to have lots of things in it. How can we trust them? How can we trust this government when they say, 'We are not going to do this,' when everything they said before the election they have backflipped on? They have backflipped on no cuts to health; they have backflipped—absolutely backflipped—on no cuts to education; they have backflipped on no cuts to the ABC; and they have backflipped on no cuts to SBS. Yet they stand here and say, 'This is a draft green paper; believe us when we say we are not going to cut hospitals.' Let us get it very clear: we do not believe what you say. Nor do the Australian people believe what you say. The people out there who believed what you told them before the last election are not going to believe what you are telling them now. And nor should they because you have not been trustworthy with them. You have not earned the trust of the Australian people. You have broken so many of those promises that they will not believe you now and they will not believe you in the future. That is a sensible thing for them to do because you cannot be trusted. Your word is broken every time. (Time expired) Question agreed to.