Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Gilmore for her question. One of the hallmarks of this government has been to so manage the Australian economy as to keep it growing with low inflation and to give young people the opportunity of a job. Two million Australians who were not in work before this government was elected now have work. That has involved balancing the budget, repaying debt, reforming the waterfront, encouraging people to move off welfare and into work, tax reform, privatisation, tax cuts and industrial relations reform. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Those policies are now delivering results: more jobs, increased wealth in our community, balanced budgets, better investment in health and aged care and better investment in education. Most people would say that those economically conservative policies have served Australia well through the challenges of the Asian financial crisis, SARS, September 11, war and terrorism and the one-in-100-year drought.

You do not become an economic conservative just by retaining an advertising agency to say that you have become an economic conservative. The opposition are very interested in TV advertising and no doubt they would have seen the oh-so-serious Leader of the Opposition on television recently, declaring himself to be an economic conservative. With his oh-so-serious face, sitting in front of a high-rise tower, he was telling people how economically conservative he actually is. But it is not a question of an advertising agent declaring you to be an economic conservative. In this business, the way you prove you are an economic conservative is with deeds not words. Every time the crunch has come in this House, the Leader of the Opposition has gone missing on reforms. Would an economic conservative have opposed those measures that balance the budget? Would an economic conservative have opposed paying off government debt?

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