Gary Nairn (Eden-Monaro, Liberal Party, Special Minister of State) Share this | Hansard source

In summing up this bill, I thank the member for Corio for vouching for my integrity during his speech. I very much appreciate that he would do that. The House has been debating the additional estimates bills, Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2005-2006 and Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2005-2006. As is the practice with these sorts of bills, speakers have canvassed a whole range of topics in this debate and have generally had a focus on the economy. The opposition has moved an amendment in the second reading stage which, I am sure all members will understand, the government disagrees.

The bills request new appropriations of approximately $2.6 billion. The requirement for additional funding arises from: changes in the estimates of program expenditure due to variations in the timing of payments and forecast increases in costs; reclassifications; and policy decisions taken by the government since the last budget, most of which were described in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2005-2006 published in December last year. The bills propose appropriation for important activities including: $110.7 million for the workplace relations reform package and $104 million assistance to support the sustainability of Australian government managed fisheries—and the member for Corio spoke at length on that area. He criticised the government about assistance packages in a general sense, without being specific, but that seems to be the way the opposition works.

The member for Corio made reference to assistance packages in my electorate. I say to the member for Corio that he is welcome to come down to my electorate and talk to the many businesses and people who have benefited greatly from things like the Eden Region Adjustment Package, which was an absolute lifesaver for the town of Eden at the time the Heinz factory closed there putting something like 150 people out of work—150 people out of work in a town with a population of around 3,000 has a huge impact both on the town and on the region. I would be very happy for the member for Corio to come down and talk to all those people who have been able to get jobs as a result of some of those projects that have been funded. Sure, not all of them have been absolutely successful, but that is what happens in those situations. If you do not do anything, though, then nothing happens; but overwhelmingly they have been successful.

It is unfortunate that there has been criticism, exclusively from the Labor opposition, about some of those projects. A lot of the criticism is based on ignorance and a total lack of understanding of the projects that have been funded. The opposition, as usual, concentrated on the odd one that was not as successful as everybody would have liked rather than looking at the overwhelming number of projects that have been successful and that have provided work to many people in my electorate.

The fisheries package is a crucial package, and I was pleased to receive the other day a letter from the President of SETFIA, which is the industry association covering the south-east trawl, Fritz Drenkahn, congratulating the government and thanking me for my involvement in that package that the former Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation, Senator Ian Macdonald, announced last year. Many fishermen will be out of work as a result of this. They know that. However, they also know that there has been a problem for some time of too many fishermen chasing too few fish. It will have a major impact, once again particularly in the Eden area but also in Bermagui in my electorate, when that number of fishermen are taken out. The flow-on effect will certainly be felt in those towns. That is why an assistance package has been put in place to help with that adjustment. The fishermen themselves will voluntarily hand over their licences as a crucial part of the package. I congratulate the government for that package and the new minister, Senator Abetz, I know, will carry on the good work of Senator Macdonald in completing that particular package.

There will be $52.4 million additional funding to meet the increased demand for the highly disadvantaged stream of Job Network services, an additional $304.3 million to support primary producers in regions that have been declared eligible for exceptional circumstances assistance and $131 million for vaccines, antibiotics and protective equipment in preparation for a potential influenza pandemic.

Much of the debate has focused on the government’s economic record. The government very much stands by its performance. Since 1996, the Australian economy has seen a long period of sustained strong growth; in 2005-06, it is forecast to grow by three per cent. During this sustained period of growth, the unemployment rate has been reduced, while inflation and interest rates have been kept low. The official interest rate has fallen from 7.5 per cent in March 1996 to 5.5 per cent at the present time. I know that in my own electorate it has gone from between seven and eight per cent back in 1996 to now well below five per cent and as low as 2.5 or three per cent in some areas. At a current rate of 5.3 per cent, unemployment remains the lowest since monthly labour market statistics were introduced in February 1978. Inflation remains moderate and appears to be well under control. The CPI rose by 0.5 per cent in the December quarter 2004 and increased by 2.8 per cent through the year.

There are also major achievements in the government’s fiscal management. The government has reduced net debt by $84.3 billion. We all remember the $96 billion debt left to us by the former Labor government, $84.3 billion of that having now been paid off, bringing it down to $11.5 billion in 2004-05. Net debt is expected to continue to fall over the forward estimates and by 2005-06 we expect to eliminate the Australian government’s net debt position and turn it into a net asset position. Just think of all of the interest that was being paid on that debt each year—so many billions of dollars when we first came into government that is now being able to be directed into areas like health and education. This means that Australia is amongst the countries with the lowest government net debt levels in the OECD. For example, as a share of GDP, Australia’s net debt level is well below the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States and New Zealand.

The government does not support the second reading amendment proposed by the honourable member for Melbourne. I am not going to respond in detail to the opposition statements, except to say that the government stands by its achievements in economic policy and in placing the Australian economy where it needs to be to respond to coming challenges. The government has overseen a fiscal strategy that has helped to deliver strong economic and employment growth coupled with modest inflation as well as sound fiscal position. The additional estimates appropriation bills reinforce the government’s reputation in budget and economic management. They request funding for important initiatives to maintain government activities and to contribute to the strong performance of the Australian economy. I commend the bills to the House.

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