Judi Moylan (Pearce, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

That was a very interesting speech. I can only say that we would agree that corruption in councils, wherever it may be found, ought to be rooted out and not tolerated at all in our society. It certainly does not serve the constituencies of those particular areas. My task today is to speak on the government’s recently announced budget—Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2007-2008 and cognate bills—and I could not help but think back on when I first stood for the seat of Pearce in 1993—it seems like just yesterday. I reflected on the issues of concern to most people as I campaigned for my first election, and they included the sharp peaks and troughs in the economy, making business planning a nightmare, not to mention the challenge of balancing household budgets. Extraordinarily high interest rates sent many businesses bankrupt; inflation hovered around five per cent, eroding people’s savings; there were high levels of unemployment, especially amongst young people; and there was a $96 billion national debt.

As the Treasurer, the member for Higgins, presented his 10th budget night speech to Parliament, the outstanding economic management of the Howard government was clearly apparent. The profile of the Australian economy is very different today from what it was 10 years ago. Importantly, high unemployment is a thing of the past, with another two million Australians now in jobs. There has been a greater emphasis on supporting young people to undertake training and increased apprenticeships to maximise employability. Average wages have increased by 20 per cent in real terms and the erosion of people’s savings has been stemmed, with inflation dropping from five per cent per annum in 1996 to 2.5 per cent per annum now. Through prudent management and the retirement of the $96 billion debt inherited from the Keating Labor government, the Howard government is able to return to all Australians and taxpayers the dividends of saving $8.5 billion per annum in interest payments on that massive debt.

Careful management of the Commonwealth budget is critical as we face the challenges of an ageing population, increased healthcare costs, national security risks, global competition requiring greater commitment to education and training and, of course, climate change, which is of concern to all of us and particularly around the world. The budget provides a sensible balance of measures that will increase prosperity and ensure that the benefits are shared throughout our communities by looking after those who are on fixed incomes, who suffer from chronic illnesses or who carry out the vital work of caring for others in the community. It is a forward-looking budget that makes significant new provisions for the future.

One of the provisions is the Higher Education Endowment Fund, a perpetual fund to generate earnings for capital works and research facilities in our institutions of higher learning. Another is the $3.5 billion commitment to Realising our Potential, involving the improvement of literacy and numeracy skills at school, greater opportunities for vocational education and apprenticeships, and universities that are more responsive to student needs. At a personal level, everyone will benefit from tax cuts, particularly those on low incomes.

The government recognises that infrastructure development is critical to the community, and the Pearce electorate is the beneficiary of significant new funding initiatives. Some $22.3 billion has been committed to roads over the next five years, building on the considerable investment in past years. In Pearce we have recently benefited from previous funding commitments, with 22 kilometres of road completed from Sawyers Valley to the lakes on the Great Eastern Highway. This highway carries traffic from the east coast of Australia to the west coast and to the ports and airports in Western Australia. It carries many trucks. A four-lane road through one of the most dangerous sections of this highway, as it approaches the metropolitan area, makes driving safer for local residents and tourist traffic as well as making a faster and much more efficient route for trucking.

Every Australian benefits from medical research. In the last several years we have seen some important breakthroughs, including ulcer treatment, cervical cancer vaccination and the bionic ear. This does not happen without considerable support from government, and a further $485.8 million will be provided for grants to medical research facilities. I am sure we agree that that will be money well spent. Although Australian scientists are amongst some of the best in the world, we need to maintain funding so that the important work can continue and new work can be started.

Small business enterprises are a vital part of our commercial success, delivering goods and services to the community and jobs to many. In fact, it has been said that more than half the jobs in our country are provided by small businesses. It is increasingly challenging in a global world to remain profitable and to take advantage of both domestic opportunities and global markets. To keep our economy strong, the government must maintain sound economic policies which allow small and medium businesses to thrive. The government will further assist our small businesses through the tax system. In this respect, they will commit $540 million of tax relief over four years and reduce compliance costs.

Over the next 10 years the government has committed $1.4 billion to build global markets and improve productivity. At a personal tax level, 80 per cent of taxpayers will continue to pay a rate of tax of 30 per cent, with two per cent of taxpayers paying at the top rates. Importantly for those on average wages, the budget ensures $16 per week in additional taxation relief. These measures are in part made possible by the retirement of the $96 billion tax legacy left by Labor. With no interest payments to make, the dividends can all go to Australian taxpayers and the Australian community.

There is no more important issue for the government than to address climate change. Climate change can only be reversed with changes to the individual behaviour of each of us. It is not a responsibility that can be simply placed on the shoulders of government and industry. It requires each of us to modify our lifestyles to consider the best use of resources at an individual level. Governments can and should, of course, lead the way in areas of climate change and water security, and this government is leading with its $10 billion National Plan for Water Security and positive programs to encourage the installation of water tanks and other water devices in schools and community organisations.

The government recognised the magnitude of the challenges facing us in 1996 when it committed $2 billion to develop practical responses to counter and reduce climate change. It was the Howard government that established, in 1996, the Australian Greenhouse Office. For example, the government’s $500 million Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund is already driving the development of solar and clean coal technologies. Advancement in alternative and adaptive industries is critical to meeting the growing challenges of reducing greenhouse gas. Recently the government, if I recall correctly, gave $75 million to a new solar energy project which has the potential to replace baseload power. The growth and development of solar technology has moved on rapidly from where it was a few years ago, and I am sure that, from that investment of the government, we will see some great alternatives and adaptive industries develop.

But to build on those early initiatives, measures in this budget will encourage adaptation through the establishment of the Australian Centre for Climate Change Adaptation. CSIRO will be allocated $103 million for climate change and energy research. These are very important measures. They should not be underestimated. Learning to adapt to the new environment is going to be very important for all of us, so the establishment of the Australian Centre for Climate Change Adaptation is a very significant step forward.

One of the major measures outlined in the budget is the $8,000 rebate for individual homeowners to install solar panels. Tax deductibility will be provided for the costs of establishing carbon sinks. The solar panel legislation is really important, again, in getting individuals to change their behaviour and to look at ways they can save greenhouse gas emissions from an individual household point of view.

In addition, Australia will take some important steps forward not only domestically but also internationally. We are taking a responsible approach to regional issues affecting climate change, and we recently announced a $200 million contribution to work with the United States and Indonesia to stop the logging of old-growth forests. There is potential to manage 20 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions if we can stop the logging of old-growth forests. This is a very significant reduction and it can be done now; it can be done immediately.

In order to continue to deliver social benefits, to address the issue of climate change and to continue infrastructure development, the economy must be managed and it must be managed well. While it is true that there has been excellent business growth resulting in a higher revenue stream for the Commonwealth, the budget still had to be managed carefully. The government has retired debt. It has delivered another budget in surplus and the outlook for future growth is excellent, with inflation continuing to be low.

The Australian film industry has been an outstanding success, and it operates in a very competitive global market. I am pleased to see in this budget that the government will provide tax incentives for film production. Australian producers will be eligible for a 40 per cent refundable rebate on domestic feature films, and other domestic productions, including television series, documentaries and miniseries, will attract a 20 per cent refundable tax rebate.

It is important that we continue to encourage this industry, and this will give the film industry an important boost. I think few people are aware of the great success of some of our post-production services. I know some of the big Chinese blockbuster films have used post-production services in Queensland. We have a member from Queensland in the Committee at present, and I am sure Mr Thompson is aware of this great industry and the success of the Queensland post-production services. Very few people are aware of the value of the Australian film industry to this country, not to mention the opportunities for young people to learn new skills.

Apart from the 40 per cent refundable rebate on domestic feature films and the 20 per cent refundable tax rebate on television series, documentaries and miniseries, in certain cases international films with some production functions will benefit from a 15 per cent location rebate. There are so many opportunities within the film and television industry for young people to learn new skills and to find employment in this emerging industry. Of course one of the biggest investments that Australia can make is indeed in the skills development area. It is one of the key issues for Australia both now and into the future. Investing in education, training and skills is insurance for future prosperity and the fulfilment of the ambitions of our young people.

The budget will improve education through the $1.7 billion in additional funding for universities; the new $5 billion Higher Education Endowment Fund will ensure first-class institutes of learning in the future; and the $700 tuition voucher will benefit children who do not achieve national literacy and numeracy benchmarks. The bonuses for schools that make significant improvements in literacy and numeracy are a step welcomed by many parents. I have encountered parents, although not very often, who have not been aware that their children have got to their final years of primary school without learning the basic literacy and numeracy skills—and it does set these youngsters back a great deal. It is hard to imagine how that happens, but I think sometimes with the reporting system parents are often confused about where their children actually sit on the scale in terms of literacy and numeracy achievements. So I think these measures are very important for families and the individual children to ensure that they leave their primary school with the skills they need to go on to apprenticeships, training or higher education.

Teachers will be rewarded in this budget for undertaking professional training at newly created summer schools. Again, it is so important that teachers have the opportunity, constantly, to upgrade their skills and to pass on the benefits of that to the children that they teach.

Apprenticeships have been a strong focus of the Howard government since 1996, and the budget builds on previous budget measures with the establishment of three new Australian technical colleges, adding to the 25 already in place from previous budget commitments. We are hoping, of course, that the electorate of Pearce will benefit from one of these new TAFEs—not located in Pearce, unfortunately—as the university campus that our government funded a couple of years ago in the Midland area is a tremendous help to people living in the hinterland who otherwise would not have an opportunity to attend university. So I hope we will see a similar situation with the new TAFE and that it will come somewhere within that area so people living in the hinterland of Pearce will have access to this new training institution.

As a member representing a mixed urban, rural and regional seat I particularly welcome the support given by the government to rural and regional areas. It has been a terrible time for farmers, not so much in most of my electorate, although on the outer perimeters there certainly has been some hardship experienced—some of that caused, of course, by very serious fires but some by a dry season greatly reducing the grain crops, down in some cases to below 60 per cent of what they have previously been. So I welcome the further $688 million for farmers not just in Pearce but also in Western Australia living on the fringes of the eastern wheat belt, who have had a particularly difficult time. This money will go to providing exceptional circumstances funding, added to that which we have announced previously for drought assistance. There will be provision for upgrading and maintaining airstrips in rural areas, and this will provide a great additional means of transport for people living in quite remote areas.

We are also providing additional assistance for rural enterprises. This builds on the excellent work done through the area consultative committees—and I had the representatives of the Wheatbelt Area Consultative Committee in this place yesterday. It is a long journey for these people to make from the west to Canberra, but they were over here to try and make sure that they are working as effectively as they can to assess local business initiatives under the Regional Partnerships program. I really appreciate the work that David White, the chairman of the Wheatbelt Area Consultative Committee does. He does a good job and is ably assisted by his staff.

This support for local new enterprises opens up opportunities for employment in rural areas and delivers much needed additional revenue to many rural and regional communities. In some cases we have seen great innovations by farmers who have had difficult times. One of the projects funded under Regional Partnerships was, I believe, the woolshed in Williams—in one of the wheat belt towns. It has become quite an icon and it now has a history museum. It is very popular with the tourists as well as with locals. These kinds of projects, which employ local people and add to the revenue of local communities, are so important in regional and rural communities. I greatly welcome the continued expenditure on Regional Partnerships initiatives and assistance for rural enterprises. This is a responsible budget which, clearly, has an eye to the future, and I do support these bills.

See this speech in context