Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

This is a government that sent Queensland broke in a mining boom. How could that be? Now we have got a $3,500 million interest bill—a three and a half thousand million dollar interest bill in Queensland. We are going to go for a debt of $71,000 million. How will Queenslanders ever pay that off? Here federally what happened was that it took us 10 years to pay off $96 billion of debt. With Queensland having a much smaller revenue base, how on earth are they going to pay off $71 billion? The answer is that they are not. Queensland has been saddled with a debt forever and interest payments forever by a Labor Party government.

Back to the federal situation: look at what is happening federally. What is different with Labor? Now we are looking at borrowing $200,000 million. The interest bill on that is $10,000 million a year—$10,000 million in dead payments in interest. How we are going to pay that off? It took 10 years to pay off Labor’s previous debt. Now they are doubling the debt that is occurring, how are we going to pay that off? It is very concerning indeed. I say to those who are watching and listening tonight that nothing has changed. Whether it is state or federal—debt, debt, debt. Tick it up on the future and let the kids pay. Well, that is not on as far as the coalition is concerned, and that is why we opposed the stimulus package and wanted to produce a stimulus package that cost half of what Labor’s proposal is but delivered twice the stimulus. Why on earth the Labor Party would not listen to a proposal like that, which gives a better deal to the Australian taxpayer, I do not know.

I will finish on a positive note. We all support federal funding for the redevelopment of the Townsville Mall and we all support federal funding for the redevelopment of the Townsville Harbour with the ocean terminal precinct. I thank my Labor colleagues for their support.

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