[00:00:00] Hi, I'm Christine McCormack from Radio Northern Beaches and you've just tuned in to the Listen and Chat with Christine McCormack Podcast. This is the space where we pull no punches, sometimes a little controversial, sometimes downright outrageous, and sometimes just packed full of information that is interesting to know. Now today, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Yet again, I will be having a bit of a rant about our politicians and their current behaviour.
[00:00:28] Honestly, they certainly give me plenty of material to work with every single week. We're going to look at the absolute breakdown of adult respect in Parliament. And let's just say, if you've been feeling frustrated by the schoolyard antics in Canberra lately, you are definitely not alone. Okay, it's time for another Chrissy Mack rant. Now Angus Taylor is saying that the current government is the worst government ever.
[00:00:57] So what is the opposition leader basing this on? He's betting everything on the kitchen table economy. He knows that when people go to the supermarket, look at their electricity bills, or open their mortgage statements, they'll be feeling a genuine heavy squeeze. So his argument relies entirely on that pain. He points to the fact that your pay packet doesn't go as far as it did a few years ago because cumulative inflation hit hard.
[00:01:25] He relies on pointing out things haven't gone to plan, like the promise that power bills would drop by $275, which didn't happen because global energy markets went haywire. He points to the rental crisis and says that the government let immigration bounce back too fast after COVID without ensuring there were enough tradies or bricks to build the houses first.
[00:01:51] To a family sitting at home trying to balance the budget, that argument hits a nerve because the daily struggle is very real. That's his leverage. Where his argument completely falls apart is when you look at the actual structural health of the country. To call the current government the worst ever completely ignores the hard data on paper. If you look at the economic foundations, this government has done things the previous liberal government never managed to do.
[00:02:21] They actually delivered consecutive budget surpluses. They took the government budget out of the red and into the black, using unexpected revenue to pay down national debt instead of spending it. Unemployment has stayed at historic lows. Usually when the economy gets tough, people lose their jobs in droves. Right now, the majority of people can get a job.
[00:02:43] After nearly a decade of wages completely standing still under the previous government, we've finally seen wages growth move forward. The real issue here, and what is disturbing me about this new turnaround, is the sheer dishonesty of the rhetoric. The liberals are looking at the everyday pain of consumers and blaming it entirely on the current Prime Minister,
[00:03:07] ignoring the fact that inflation and supply chain breakdowns hit the entire world after the pandemic. Meanwhile, Labor is looking at their shiny budget surpluses on paper in Canberra and wondering why the public isn't cheering. The truth is, a budget surplus doesn't buy your groceries at a checkout. And a low unemployment rate doesn't lower your rent. It's not the worst government ever.
[00:03:34] That's just a slogan designed to get a headline. It's a government caught in a global economic storm facing an opposition that is more than happy to use the community's genuine financial pain to score political points. Now, let's look at the way they've chosen to deliver these messages. Think about what we teach our kids today.
[00:03:57] In schools, in workplaces, in community sports, everywhere we turn, society is trying to drum home a basic lesson. We talk about the meaning of respect. We emphasize courtesy. We teach children and adults alike that verbal abuse, bullying tactics and intimidation are flat out unacceptable. We expect our society to grow up. But then, you turn on question time.
[00:04:25] You look at the current opposition and it's like stepping into a time capsule. Instead of matching the standards we demand from everyday Australians, we see our political party doubling down on the exact same schoolyard bullying tactics they've been using for years. You'd think they would have learned something from recent history, after all. The public already sent a loud, undeniable message.
[00:04:53] Peter Dutton was booted entirely out of politics. The former opposition leader lost his own seat, rejected by the public that grew completely exhausted by a strategy of just saying no to everything. He was kicked to the curb because his behaviour didn't match what Australians wanted. And yet, look at the party room today. The faces might shift, but the playbook hasn't changed.
[00:05:21] They're driving down the exact same road with absolutely no diversions. What the public actually wants to see is a constructive alternative. We want an opposition that does the real work, coming up with serious counter-policies, backed by realistic budgets and delivered with a standard professional courtesy. We want adult conversations about the future of this country, not cheap shots across the chamber.
[00:05:49] If you look at the electoral map, the warning signs are flashing red. The Liberal Party is literally being voted out of existence in major parts of the country. They're facing a true political crisis, but instead of adapting, instead of finding new direction, they keep their foot on the accelerator straight ahead. If you keep driving down this road of toxic, outdated behaviour, it won't just be a loss at the next election.
[00:06:17] It will lead them straight to political extinction. You know, I had to smile the other day when I saw a Facebook post from my cousin. It perfectly captures exactly how the rest of the country is feeling right now. He wrote, Just came inside because of the rain. Turned on TV Channel 2, Parliament House Question Time. Four minutes in and I want to go out and just stand in the rain.
[00:06:44] Oh my God, these people are supposed to lead us. Giggling, joking, arguing, talking over each other. Digs about all sorts of childish kindergarten garbage. We stand no chance of any sort of future if this is how tax money is spent. So just not funny. It's embarrassing and disheartening. Rent over, going out to wash this episode away. Well, he is spot on.
[00:07:11] When you look at it through the eyes of everyday Australians, the reality hits hard. This isn't just a bad daytime soap opera. This is a massive waste of our hard-earned taxpayer dollars on display for everyone to see. Think about the sheer entitlement of it. What right do these politicians have to take our money, sit in the highest house in the land,
[00:07:36] and treat the public with such utter contempt and disrespect? We don't just expect better from our leaders anymore. We demand it. When people would literally rather stand out in a downpour than watch the people running the country behave like God knows what. You can't call them toddlers because toddlers are better behaved. The system is broken. This isn't just one person's rant.
[00:08:03] This is how the vast majority of Australians feel right now. We are tired of the garbage. We are tired of the embarrassment. We are tired of watching our future get traded for cheap political points. It is simply not good enough. And if people inside that building don't wake up and start showing this nation the respect it deserves, they might just find themselves left out in the cold.
[00:08:33] Well, that's my rant for this week. And remember, these are my opinions and not those of our station. All right. I hope I've given you a lot to think about and talk about and debate and maybe disagree with. Don't forget to follow, like and share. Stay safe and I'll catch you next time.