Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this afternoon in response to the matter of public importance that has been raised by the opposition. I just want to restate the matter of public importance put forward by the opposition. It says:

The Government’s failure to establish the foundation for the long term prosperity of Australian families.

We just heard from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Her contribution was full of cliches, full of references to how the Labor Party have changed. If they have changed in this term of this government, why is it that they have opposed the reform of the tax system? Why is it that, at every point, they opposed the introduction of the GST, an essential reform that strengthened the economy, got taxes off businesses and, as a result of that, got taxes off our exports?

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition is trying to portray herself and the Labor Party as a revolution, saying that there has been a major change and that this election is about a contest of ideas. We only have to look at their record—not only in government for 13 long, painful years for the Australian people and Australian families but in the 11 years since we have come to government—on what they have opposed. Every reform that this government has brought forward that will strengthen the economy and that is an essential element of laying down the foundations for a strong economy and support for families, the Labor Party have opposed.

Let us just have a look at some of their record in government—and it is important. Unemployment peaked under a Labor government, a Labor government that was driven by the ideology of a union movement that was right behind them all the way, and that is exactly what we will see should they ever be elected to the treasury bench of this parliament. Under a Labor government, unemployment rose to 11 per cent. It was as bad as it had been since the Great Depression. I was in this place on the other side of the parliament, and I remember seeing, as I returned to my electorate and when visiting many parts of Australia, those long unemployment queues. There was nothing more depressing than to see people out of work, with desperation on their faces, with the soup kitchens and the Salvation Army and charitable organisations trying to help those families that had been destroyed. Their lives had been destroyed because of the Labor government’s inability to manage the economy.

When we came to government, I will never forget it. During that election campaign in 1996, we wanted to find out from the Labor Party what the state of the budget was. The response at the time from the former Leader of the Opposition, the member for Brand, was that the budget was in surplus. We actually could not find out. The budget at that time was said to be in surplus. When we came to government, we found that it was not in surplus; it was in fact another $10 billion in deficit, which made it a $96 billion debt that we as a government had to address if we were to lay the foundations for a strong economy and opportunities for families to have security. That is why I reject the opposition’s matter of public importance today about ‘the government’s failure to establish the foundation for the long-term prosperity of Australian families’, because we have laid the foundations for the long-term prosperity of Australian families. That is exactly what we have done.

There could be nothing more devastating for a family than for the breadwinner of the family to come home and say, ‘I’ve lost my job.’ When we were under a Labor administration in Canberra there were thousands upon thousands of households in which no-one had a job. Let us look at what this government has done. We have not only created the strong economy and the environment for real job opportunities in Australia; we have also laid the foundations for the economy to continue to grow. Today, families are enjoying the lowest interest rates on their mortgage payments. What did we see under a Labor government? The interest rates were at 17 per cent, and some businesses were paying up to 25 per cent. That is the sort of record that we see whenever the Labor Party get hold of a treasury bench—wherever it is around Australia. If they ever got hold of the treasury bench here in Canberra, we would see a return to the old Labor Party.

Let us look at real wages growth since we came to government. Under our government, real wages growth is 17.9 per cent. What was it under the 13 years of Labor government? It was negative 1.7 per cent, and that was because of their industrial relations approaches. They did not have Work Choices, they had union agreements, so people could not negotiate. One person had to negotiate. That sort of mentality and attitude will continue to be part of the Labor Party’s approach to negotiation and to wages agreements while ever they have a connection to the unions of Australia. Much of Labor’s front bench have records of leading the unions not only in their own communities but at a national level. We know one thing for sure, and that is that the union leaders of Australia are desperate to make sure that the Leader of the Opposition, Kevin Rudd, and his deputy toe the line when it comes to the policies that they will take to the next federal election.

Let us look at interest rates. What were the average interest rates under a Labor government? They were 12.75 per cent. I said earlier that they rose to a record of 17 per cent, but let us look at the average: 12.75 per cent. The average mortgage rate under a coalition government is 7.2 per cent. What has that meant for families—since that is the reference in the MPI that has been brought on by the opposition? It has meant, for families with an average mortgage of $225,000, that their repayments are down by some $459 per month. The coalition government have laid the foundations for prosperity not only for families but for all Australians, because of our good economic management and our commitment to making sure that we do what is right to establish a strong economy with real growth. We will ensure that the prosperity is shared by all Australians.

The other interesting thing, as we go to the next election, is the alliance that the Labor Party has with the Greens. We know already that the opposition environment spokesman, the member for Kingsford Smith, is promoting—behind the scenes, like so many of these back room deals—that there will be no new coalmines established in Australia. What does that mean for those families in the seat of Flynn in central Queensland? They do not have job security under a Labor Party. Those coalminers and their families would be hit hard if there were ever a return of the Labor government here in Canberra. A Labor government would not allow the development of new mines. In fact, in central Queensland right now—much of it is in my electorate—there are eight new mines under development. Those mines are going to create jobs and wealth for Australia. Those mines are going to lay down the prosperity for the coalmining families. Under a Labor government that is all at risk, because Labor governments are the wreckers of the economy.

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