Today marks one year since the Labor party and the Greens exchanged vows and joined together in coalition.

 

It is clear that one year on, this marriage has been a disaster for Australia. Minority government is not serving Australia well.

 

We have a government that is drifting and not sure of what direction it is taking Australia. The High Court’s 6-1 rejection of the government’s “Malaysian solution” is in effect of vote of no confidence in this government’s competence.

 

The government’s refusal to take to the electorate its radical Green agenda shows a lack of respect for the Australian people. A government that doesn’t respect the people can’t expect the people to respect the government.

 

We all remember the photos. Julia Gillard and Bob Brown wearing corsages in their lapels and signing what looked a lot like a marriage registry, Wayne Swan and Christine Milne looking on as approving members of the bridal party.

 

The government’s record since then is a rolling series of calamities:

 

·         In October, they announced a Murray-Darling Basin plan that would have destroyed production in Australia’s food bowl.

 

·         In February, the government announced a carbon tax despite the Prime Minister promising five days before the last election that “there will be no carbon tax under a government I lead”.

 

·         In June, the government decided overnight to outlaw our $320 million live cattle trade to Indonesia, a decision that is still causing devastation throughout northern Australia.  

 

·         In July, our nation’s debt passed $200 billion for the first time ever. Labor has borrowed an average of $100 million each day they have been in government.

 

·         And, just yesterday the High Court ruled Labor’s “Malaysian solution” invalid because the government had not done its homework.