Mr HOWARTH (Petrie—Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services) (15:36): It is hard to believe that those opposite know what it takes to represent the interests of Australians. The MPI today is on: The need for the Government to represent the interests of all Australians. I couldn't agree more. I know that the member for Calare and the member for Reid agree, as do others in this place who understand what it means to be a federal member and to represent everyone in your electorate. It doesn't matter whether they are rich, poor, unemployed, doing well—whatever their circumstances are—it is important to help them. That's why our government has a plan around agriculture, health, mental health—which the member for Reid will speak about—our Defence Force, security, the environment. There are so many things that we want to get done to help Australians, and that's what we're here to do: help Australians. We want to ensure everyone gets to be their best and that everyone gets ahead. We want to ensure that people have dignity and security of work so people can 'tread their own path', as The Barefoot Investor would say, not rely on government handouts. I will tell you one thing I do: I try to help people with financial education. A lot of the issues I see in my own electorate are when people don't have a financial education. Ms Collins: Old people won't be pensioners if they listen to you—is that right? Mr HOWARTH: I will tell you what those opposite want to do. I couldn't help but listen to the member for Jagajaga last night when she spoke about our drug testing trial bill, spoke about Odyssey House in her own electorate and spoke about love and empathy. She made a great speech until she said 'yet this government'. Ms Butler: 'Labor, Labor, Labor, Labor, Labor' is all we hear from your Prime Minister. Mr HOWARTH: This bill that we're trying to bring in is to help people. There is a plan. For those opposite: no person gets help for a problem, from Odyssey House in Jagajaga or from a drug rehabilitation place in my own electorate, unless they admit and understand that they need help. If they don't know they need help, how on earth are they ever going to get help? Ms Swanson: I think they know that they need help; they're dying. Mr HOWARTH: Please, keep it down. We actually have a plan. The plan, of course, is around jobs and helping people get ahead. Our free trade agreements have gone a long way to help people, as have our defence industry contracts. We have 30,000 Australians and 3½ thousand SMEs working in defence industry, and the number is growing. The tax cuts for small and medium businesses are helping those businesses with a turnover of up to $50 million. That's where all the jobs growth is. Programs like PaTH and the Job Seeker Boot Camp that I run in my own electorate are giving people practical help so they get into it. Mr Shorten interjecting— Mr HOWARTH: I know the member for Maribyrnong has been a union leader, but do you know what small businesses look for when employing people? They want people who have a great attitude, they want people who are drug and alcohol free and they want people who care about their work. The best place that an unemployed person can get mentoring is in a business where people have KPIs and where they turn up every day and understand what they're doing. Those people vote against it. You vote against everything that we want to do in this place to help people. I can tell you that you can show love, you can show compassion, you can build on relationships and you can help people. We're doing a lot. In my own electorate we've upgraded roads like the Rothwell roundabout— Ms Butler interjecting— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Griffith! Mr HOWARTH: and the Gateway Motorway. We've promised money for the Redcliffe Hospital. The member for Maribyrnong would know this: I got the MRI machine approved at the Redcliffe Hospital. The member for Griffith might want to ring Steven Miles and say, 'Can you finally get the MRI room built at the hospital?' We've been waiting for over six months since it was announced— Ms Butler: You cut funding to hospitals— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Griffith is warned! Mr HOWARTH: This is the problem with some politicians. If you look at the member for Murrumba, who is a state Labor member in my own electorate, he's absolutely terrible to work with. I can work with some others in Labor, like the member for Sandgate. He is a good fellow who is easy to work with. Member for Griffith—through you, Mr Deputy Speaker—if you want to pipe up and get involved, go and talk to him. Tell him to approve the $2 million pool for Mango Hill State School in my electorate. Tell him to approve the on and off ramps at Griffin and Murrumba Downs. And tell him to get the MRI room built at the Redcliffe Hospital. We're here to represent the interests of all Australians—and we on this side are doing that in spades.