Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Prime Minister) (15:13): This is the weakest attempted suspension of standing orders from the weakest leadership team that we have seen in this chamber for many a decade. At least the Leader of the Opposition has come out of hiding. He's actually had something to say in this chamber. The last media conference the Leader of the Opposition held was on 3 November. He's taken a vow of silence. From 3 November to 1 December he has not held a press conference—not one! But to be fair, this week he's done two media interviews. They've been tough! First was the weekly interview with Ray Hadley—he holds him to account every Thursday! And last night there was that tough interrogation from Paul Murray! This is what Paul Murray asked last night: … you've got a potential in the next two and a half years to build policies around one word—'freedom'. Is that going to be the funnel that you try to work out what you take to the electorate in the next two and a half years? The response: Absolutely, it will be … It is exactly about that freedom. Mr Sukkar: Talk about electricity prices talk about electricity and about your promises. The SPEAKER: The member for Deakin is warned. Mr ALBANESE: I'm not sure if he's channelling Mel Gibson in Braveheart or George Michael! It's hard to tell, because last week he did two interviews as well and he had two questions in the whole week. And guess how many matters of public importance the Leader of the Opposition has done in this parliament. I'll give you a clue: it's a really round number—not one! Not once has this Leader of the Opposition had the confidence to come to this dispatch box after question time and say, 'Today I know what the most important matter is'—not once. Mr Hamilton interjecting— The SPEAKER: The member for Groom will cease interjecting. Mr ALBANESE: He's taken a vow of silence. He's less a Leader of the Opposition and more a Trappist monk!. He's taken a vow of silence, and it's little wonder because he cannot defend his record. Then, of course, we had the deputy leader, who stood here and spoke about interest rates. Well, I tell you what, there was low interest in her speech by the end of that. Not even her own side were listening. I'll tell you what we've done in our first six months of office. Mr Dutton: You've misled the Australian public. That's what you've done. The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting. Mr ALBANESE: We said we would make child care cheaper, and we have. We said we'd get our lowest paid workers a pay rise, and we have. We said we'd give aged-care workers a pay rise, and we have. We said we'd make medicines cheaper, and we have. We said we'd have 180,000 fee-free TAFE places, and we have. We said we'd pass the National Anti-Corruption Commission, and we have. We said we'd have 10 days paid domestic and family violence leave, and we have. We said we'd establish a robodebt royal commission, and we have. We said we'd embraceRespect@Work and put women at the centre of our budget, and we have. We said, after a decade of denial, that we would legislate for net zero and 43 per cent emissions reduction by 2030, and we have. We said we'd restore Australia's international reputation, and we have. We're out there restoring relationships with our Pacific neighbours. How does that contrast with what happened in the Solomons under this opposition's watch, under the former government? Can you imagine, if they are successful sometime in the future, the Leader of the Opposition rocking up to the Pacific Islands Forum and saying, 'Sorry I made jokes about your entire lands drowning. Sorry I thought that was funny. Sorry about that'—let alone, of course, their relationship with France, their relationship with the United States or their relationship with ASEAN. Mr Wood : What about China? Mr ALBANESE: And then they talk about the relationship with China, our major trading partner, which imports more goods from Australia than the United States, Japan and Korea combined. And, yes, I had a meeting with president Xi with no concessions—not one—and no preconditions because I believe that you can have an economic relationship with our major trading partner to defend jobs and our national economy. I make no apologies for that. We said we would put an end to a decade of delay, inaction and disrespect, a decade of cover-ups and secrecy, a decade of wages kept deliberately low, a decade of denying climate change, a decade of goading manufacturers to leave our shores and a decade of neglecting TAFE and training in aged care and health, and that is precisely what we have done. I am so proud of my team and what we have done in our first six months, delivering on promise after promise after promise—a contrast to their record. In their last six months, what did they do? They said they'd have a religious discrimination bill, and then they pulled their own bill. Wages were going backwards. They didn't order enough rapid antigen tests. They spent money from their Disaster Relief Fund. Nope, didn't bother to get around to that. We have been looking after communities that have been suffering from the emergencies that have continued. They hid an energy policy, they hid an environmental report, they hid information, but, most importantly, they hid who their ministers were. They had a shadow government. And, yesterday, they defended a bloke who actually stood here and said, 'I would have told you who the ministers were and that I'd been sworn into six portfolios, but no-one asked.' And they queued up to kiss the ring after the speech--they queued up! It was just an extraordinary performance of sycophancy from a political party that failed to stand up—failed to stand up for parliamentary functioning and for our democracy. While I went to the election saying that I would bring people together, those opposite are just interested in dividing people. State premiers—ask Premier Perrottet who he prefers to deal with, the federal Labor government now or the former Morrison government. Go and ask him! He'll tell you. Go and ask the Tasmanian Premier, Premier Rockliff, who he's happy to deal with. We delivered the Marinus plan. You talked about it for six years; we've delivered in six months. We have a plan for the future. They've left 10 years of mess. We won't waste a day. They wasted a decade. We believe no-one should be left behind. Those opposite had a conscious economic plan to leave people behind by driving wages low. We want a future made here in Australia. Yesterday, we advanced the National Reconstruction Fund to do just that. Contrast that with those opposite, when a former Treasurer stood at this despatch box and dared the car industry to leave, with real consequences for manufacturing and our capacity to have a complex economy. We believe that clean, cheap energy will drive our economy in the future. We believe that clean, cheaper energy can drive advanced manufacturing here in Australia. We believe in opportunities for those jobs through increased funding for TAFE and through increased funding for universities. But we also believe in helping our youngest Australians through our childcare package and our oldest Australians through our aged-care plans. We have a plan for this country. Those opposite just have a sulk about how dare the Australian people, in a polling booth, on 21 May, take away what they regard as their born-to-rule mentality. I'll tell you this: they need to have a bit of a reset over the summer months and come back, be constructive, and have some plans rather than the absurd, weak opposition that we see before us today. The SPEAKER: The question is the motion be disagreed to.