Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am happy to come back to the policies and the substance of these appropriation bills, because that is why the people of Australia re-elected the Howard government in October 2004. We know that many of the initiatives covered by these appropriation bills have been spoken to by other members of the parliament, including those on the coalition side. Let me turn my attention to some of those matters. The Howard government remains very focused on delivering to the Australian people the security of a strong economy—security that was absent under the previous Labor government—to allow people to provide the very best for their families and to confidently plan for the future. As the member for the federal seat of Ryan in the western suburbs of Brisbane, I know just how important issues like interest rates and the mortgage payments of families are to ordinary and everyday constituents in my electorate.

One of the mandates that the people gave to the Howard government was to continue to work hard and to ensure that interest rates are kept as low as possible. The Labor economic record speaks for itself. When it left office, Labor’s final budget in 1995-96 was a deficit to the tune of two per cent of this country’s GDP—in excess of $10 billion, the equivalent of almost $20 billion in today’s terms. In its last five budgets Labor deficits totalled some $70 billion.

The Howard government was able to restore the budget to surplus in the 1997-98 budget, a year ahead of predictions. Since then the Howard government, with the Treasurer having responsibility for economic management, has contributed surplus budgets for the benefit of the Australian people. The 2005-06 budget was in surplus by $8.9 billion.

Job creation has been a top priority of the Howard government. We know exactly where the Labor Party stood when it was in office. I touched on the comparisons earlier in my presentation. Almost one million Australians were unemployed in 1992, when Mr Keating was Prime Minister of this country. Since 1996, when Mr Howard came to office, leading a coalition government back into office, 1.7 million new jobs have been created and the unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest rate in three decades.

We all know that tax reform is very important to the continuing prosperity and economic development of this country. This government has a major focus on discussion and dialogue about the rates of taxation and where the balance is right for it to be able to service its needs as the government of the day whilst always remembering that taxes belong to the Australian people. It is the people’s money. It is the money of the people of my electorate of Ryan. It does not belong to a government as such. Any revenue collected by a government is always the people’s money. The government has a commission to act in the best interests of the Australian people.

We know that the opposition voted against $21.7 billion worth of tax cuts in the 2005-06 budget. This is despite the fact that now, as a result of successive tax cuts in the 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 budgets, over 80 per cent of taxpayers will face a top marginal tax rate of 30 per cent or less and taxpayers will not reach the highest marginal tax rate until they earn approximately three times the average weekly earnings. Let us turn our minds back to last year when the Treasurer delivered his budget. We did not get the full support of the federal Labor Party. In fact, they stood shoulder to shoulder voting against any tax cuts that this government wanted to put through. The Australian people will remember that very well indeed.

A report on Australian social attitudes released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2005 found that some 80 per cent of people surveyed said that they were very proud of Australia’s economic achievements. Indeed, they have every right to be proud. They have invested in this government. Through the re-election of the Howard government they have invested very strongly and very confidently in the leadership of this country.

The magnitude of Australia’s successes under this government is particularly stark when ranked against the management of this country when Labor was last in office. I remind the people of Ryan that, if they ever have any doubt, if they ever have any reservation about what the Labor Party could do to the economy, they should turn their minds back to interest rates that were double digit, 20 per cent plus. If people were in small business, it was almost 25 per cent or 26 per cent. I well recall my parents facing great stress when they had to come to terms with paying interest rates for the home that they now own.

Fifteen years ago, Australia’s income per capita had fallen to 19th in the developed world. Today Australia is roughly the eighth highest. In today’s Australian my electorate of Ryan is ranked sixth for general levels of happiness and satisfaction among constituencies across the country.

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