Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the outset I would like to congratulate the Treasurer of Australia for another example of a responsible and sensible budget that further demonstrates this government’s determination and dedication to the goal of managing Australia’s finances in a way to ensure the best possible lifestyle for Australians from all walks of life.

I think it is widely recognised throughout the world that Australia’s economy is strong and stable and our lifestyle is one of comfort and safety relative to a great many other nations whose citizens face daily hardships, many of which are nonexistent in Australia. We only have to turn on our television sets to see examples of those hardships experienced by citizens in other nations—hardships such as extreme and widespread poverty, war, famine and uncaring governments. The list goes on.

Australians often lose sight of the fact that our welfare system is also extremely generous. Many nations around the world have virtually no welfare system. If you have no job in these countries, if you cannot work due to injury or disability or if you are elderly or too frail to work then, unless you have family to support you, you have very little to fall back on. Unfortunately, as some have suggested, our welfare system may in some people’s eyes be too good. But we must always be mindful of ensuring that we do have a safety net in our society to make sure that less privileged people are able to receive assistance from the rest of the community. It is important that that be seen as a safety net and not as a lifestyle choice.

There are other examples of what makes Australia the great nation it is. We have low interest rates, low unemployment and other things. We have sensible leadership. Prudent spending has been demonstrated by the coalition government over the last 10 years. Australia is a country which many people see as being one of the best run countries economically right throughout the world. In fact, Australia, under the Liberal-National Party government, has become the envy of people right around the globe.

I would also like at this stage to mention that this budget builds on our successive budgets which have had surpluses. We also have in this case reduced taxes once again. We have repaid a debt totally. When we were elected to office in 1996 the government of the day was paying out an enormous amount of money—billions of dollars each year—in interest on government debt. But now, through sound economic management, we have repaid all of that debt, and that means that the government is now able to find the financial wherewithal to be able to improve spending on a whole range of activities which are beneficial and desirable to the Australian population.

While in the budget debate it is always important to mention how great the economic management of this government has been, one of the things about the appropriation debate is that one does get the opportunity to digress and to talk about other issues of great importance to the community. Mr Deputy Speaker Scott, I would at this point like to take the opportunity to congratulate the National Party and the Liberal Party in Queensland, you as the National Party president, the Hon. Warwick Parer as the Liberal Party president, Geoff Greene as the state director of the Liberal Party and Mr Hall, who is the director of the National Party, on the decision that was made yesterday by both state executives, meeting separately, to move towards a merger of the two parties.

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