Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2009-2010 and cognate budget appropriation bills. These bills follow what has been one of the greatest economic challenges of our times. In building the budget, the Rudd government were faced with a considerable challenge: how do we develop a budget that supports local jobs now, a budget which invests in infrastructure in the long run, and a budget that is fiscally responsible? These are challenges faced by the Rudd government at a time when tax receipts have been revised downwards for the forward estimates by $210 billion. They are the facts of this budget.

We have made some tough choices in this budget—choices that are in the interests of our nation’s future. We as a government have chosen to borrow responsibly to provide support for our economy at a time when investment is most needed. Almost 70 per cent of the Rudd government’s economic stimulus is going towards nation building, creating jobs today and building our nation’s infrastructure for tomorrow. This economic stimulus is going towards the largest modernisation of schools that this country has ever seen. It is building new road and rail links and investing in new buildings for hospitals and health facilities, and in higher education and TAFEs.

Already in my own electorate I have announced $9.5 million in funding to refurbish 85 schools across the Ballarat district, $40.1 million for major infrastructure projects under round 1 of the Primary Schools for the 21st Century program, funding for 59 social housing units constructed across my electorate, $563,000 for Moorabool Shire, $425,000 for Hepburn Shire and $1.5 million for Ballarat City Council to build community infrastructure to improve the wellbeing of our community. There will be $2.2 million towards a community recreation facility at Creswick, $5 million towards the Eureka Centre for Democracy in Ballarat and some $5.3 million for 18 black spots across my electorate. That is to name just a few of the announcements that have been made.

In the face of this global recession, the government have chosen to go down the path of building our nation because we know that this downturn in the economy needs to be addressed quickly. It needs to be addressed in the most productive way possible, and that is by building our infrastructure, removing capacity constraints in the economy, training our people and ensuring that our children have access to 21st century facilities to learn in. All of this is so that when this recession ends we will be in the best possible position to grow our economy and grow it strongly. These are the circumstances that we are in today. Our gross domestic product is expected to fall by half a per cent in 2009-10, with a recovery sometime in 2010 or 2011. Unemployment is expected to rise to 8½ per cent by June 2011. Government revenues are expected to continue to decline dramatically. That is why we have announced a third round of stimulus measures, to support our national economy for the long term.

But it is not all doom and gloom, as those opposite would lead you to believe. Our economy is facing this challenge in a much stronger position than any other advanced economy. A sturdy financial system, a strong public finance sector and early and decisive action mean that we are in a good position to come out of the other side of this global recession positively. I am proud to be part of a government that has acted so decisively instead of sitting on its hands and doing nothing. Our measures are going a long way toward supporting jobs and protecting families from the impact of the worst global recession in 75 years.

I want to go to some of the measures in the budget. As part of the Rudd government’s budget, we have announced we will extend the first home owners boost for an extra six months and then phase it out. This extension has been announced to support jobs and to support those looking to buy their first home. I encourage those in my electorate who are in a position to take advantage of this, and the additional money on offer from the Victorian state government, to act within that extension period. There is no doubt that the first home owners boost has saved the home building and construction industry from significant job losses and injected much-needed funds into local economies. The real estate industry across the Ballarat electorate and those whom I speak to in property development have clearly told me that the first home owners boost has been a significant factor in sustaining their industry during this time of global uncertainty.

I would also like to draw attention to our announcement, as part of this budget, to increase the small business and general business tax break from 30 to 50 per cent for eligible assets. At the start of May, the member for Rankin and minister for small business, Craig Emerson, visited the Ballarat electorate. We met with a large number of small business owners. The message from small business was across-the-board support for the original 30 per cent tax break. Over the past fortnight, I have had the pleasure of discussing the Rudd government’s commitment to increasing the tax break to 50 per cent. This is again a measure that is assisting small business but is also designed to keep cash circulating within local economies. I have no doubt that jobs in the retail sector in particular have benefited and will benefit from this initiative.

One of the central focuses of this budget is strong investment in major infrastructure projects across the nation. The investment in infrastructure via this budget across the Ballarat electorate is frankly unprecedented. Let me run through some of the projects. As part of the budget, we have allocated funding to have work started on two key major road projects on the Western Highway—one at Anthony’s Cutting, the Djerriwarrh Creek intersection between Melton and the town of Bacchus Marsh. We have also committed funds to start work on the Western Highway duplication from Ballarat to Stawell. These projects come on the back of the opening of the Deer Park bypass. The combination of these three projects alone will transform the Ballarat electorate into western Victoria’s regional network hub.

At the previous election, members on this side of the House committed to removing infrastructure bottlenecks across the country. We are achieving this commitment through such measures. Not only will regions of the Ballarat electorate be more accessible to Victorians for tourism but local residents will find it much easier to travel to work and to visit family and friends. Combined with this efficiency, this sound investment in major road projects will significantly improve safety on our major roads. It is anticipated that the Anthony’s Cutting project alone will support over 500 jobs, keeping people employed and money circulating through local economies.

Other measures have also been implemented locally, as part of this budget, to address road safety. In addition to these large-scale infrastructure projects, $5.3 million is going towards eliminating 18 dangerous black spots on local roads across my electorate, combined with funding for boom gates and other safety measures at six high-risk level crossings. The Rudd government has also been working with local councils to implement its infrastructure program. The Community Infrastructure Program has seen local councils across the Ballarat electorate receive funding from this budget. Community infrastructure projects that have had funding allocated are well underway. I have already opened the first of them in my electorate, at Paddock’s Creek Reserve in Gordon. I congratulate Moorabool Shire and the local community at Gordon on a wonderful job.

On top of this, the Rudd government is also providing some $5 million to the City of Ballarat for the Eureka Centre for Democracy. We have committed $2.2 million to the Hepburn Shire Council for the Doug Lindsay Recreation Reserve. Other significant infrastructure projects include the $1.5 million for the Ballarat aquatic centre stage 2 redevelopment, which is just about to commence, and some $200,000 for the Trentham neighbourhood centre renewal. All of this is significant investment that is supporting local jobs and businesses through the current global recession. It will support jobs across building and construction but also across other parts of our economy as the workers employed in that industry spend their wages in our local economy.

I also want to mention the National Broadband Network. We have committed to building a $43 billion superfast broadband network, an incredibly important piece of infrastructure for regional areas. The government has allocated in this budget some $54.2 million over two years to implement and establish the National Broadband Network. Across the electorate of Ballarat, I already have major stakeholders keen and interested in the rollout of the network and looking at how they can participate. Residents across my electorate are fully aware of the benefits of the National Broadband Network, the biggest nation-building infrastructure project in Australia’s history. I strongly support the rural and regional initiatives announced as part of the budget and look forward to working with Senator Conroy on how these measures will benefit the various parts of my district.

I also want to touch on our Clean Energy Initiative: I support our investment of $4.5 billion in new clean energy initiatives. I welcome the introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme and the changes to the national renewable energy targets. The Rudd government have continually recognised our role in the fight against climate change. This has been reflected in our nation-building plan. It is important in local and regional economies that we take advantage of some of these measures to make sure that we grow green jobs for our future.

As part of the budget the Rudd government announced $2.6 billion for tertiary education and innovation infrastructure through the Education Investment Fund. As part of that announcement, I was pleased to announce over $58 million coming into my electorate for the University of Ballarat. The University of Ballarat Vice-Chancellor, David Battersby, stated:

We look forward to developing these projects … to add to the learning, teaching, research and industry strengths of Ballarat and its region.

This funding is broken down into two major projects: $39.97 million for the university to rebuild its science and engineering precinct to establish a world-class regional learning, teaching and research facility, and $18 million for a manufacturing technology training centre for the University of Ballarat. The $39.97 million for the science and engineering precinct will fund a new three-storey building to enable both the science and engineering disciplines to collaborate and interact in a new multidisciplinary environment. Students, staff and researchers from the university’s mining, engineering and environmental sciences disciplines will all take advantage of this great new facility.

The head of school, Dr Kim Dowling, emailed me on the announcement and stated:

I am certain many people have thanked you for your support of the University of Ballarat but I wanted to personally thank you for your support of the School of Science and Engineering. The building project ($40 Million for the new Science and Engineering precinct) that was announced in the budget affirms that it is a great time to be in a regional University and this is a clear message of support for our work. There is much to do and I am sure we have some obstacles before us, but I have to say, it is a wonderful time to be in Science and Engineering.

The $18 million funding to go to the manufacturing technology training centre at the University of Ballarat’s TAFE campus will provide modern training facilities, both expanding and enhancing diversity and delivery of courses in emerging manufacturing technologies across my electorate. The introduction of state-of-the-art learning technology will address an area of skill shortage in the region by providing job-ready graduates who are familiar with current industry practice.

Both these projects are great news for the education sector across Ballarat as we work towards building first-class education facilities. But they are also good news for jobs. Not only will local tradespeople be able to get involved with the building of both these projects but by investing in projects such as a manufacturing technology and training centre we set up our local manufacturing industry for future growth. I also look forward to those opposite and senators supporting this funding for the University of Ballarat in these appropriations.

I also briefly want to talk about paid parental leave; it is something which seems to have got a little lost in the post-budget debate. Another measure outlined in these appropriations is our commitment to paid parental leave. This is the first of its kind in Australia and it ensures families can strike a good balance between paid work and supporting their children. The investment is over $731 million over five years and will start from 1 January 2011. The investment will see 150,000 new parents eligible for an income while looking after their children.

The Rudd government’s commitment to introducing a paid parental scheme in our country is something that I am very proud of, and is a significant moment in my time as a member of parliament. For too long our country has dropped the ball in the area of supporting working families, and members on this side are wholeheartedly supportive of this initiative. I also urge those members opposite to support it. I have no doubt the member for Indi will support the measure, as I note in her speech to parliament on 10 March 2009 she stated:

… the Labor Party cannot come up with any funding for a paid parental leave scheme about which it has built such high expectations.

We have come up with the money in the budget and we have come up with a decent scheme. I certainly hope the opposition supports it.

There are also a number of retirement income measures in the budget. Since the election I have spoken to hundreds of pensioners, as many other members of parliament would have. I have told many pensioners throughout the Ballarat electorate that I am committed to reforming our nation’s pension system. Let us make no mistake about this: there has absolutely been a need for change. Single age pensioners, in particular those who do not own their own home, are some of the financially worst off in our community. Despite years of talking about it in opposition, when in government the coalition did absolutely nothing. After 13 years in government they waited until they were in opposition—a position from which they can actually deliver nothing—to promise pensioners a pay rise: a meaningless promise. They made the promise knowing they would never have to deliver on it.

The Labor Party has delivered on its promise. It is the Labor Party that shows it understands the plight of people in poverty and acts to try and alleviate that poverty. As part of this budget we are delivering on our commitment to pensioners. As of 20 September this year, full-rate single pensioners will be delivered increases of $32.49 per week, and full-rate pensioner couples will receive an increase of $10.14 per week combined. For the 15,000 age pensioners across my electorate, many of whom I have talked to about their pensions, this is welcome news. These pensioners across the district will now receive $336.68 per week instead of the $304 they previously received.

As part of the budget we have also announced that the new annual carer supplement of $600 will be paid to people who receive carer payment. This payment will be provided to around 450,000 recipients of carer allowance, with an extra $600 for each person they care for. Some 5,000 carers across my electorate will benefit from these changes. These are just some of the income support measures that are happening across my electorate to support local jobs and to grow local economies. I have also outlined the infrastructure projects that are occurring.

I would like to recognise the government’s commitment to guide the nation’s finances back to surplus. As I said earlier, the global recession has ripped some $210 billion in government revenue out of the budget. Two-thirds of the budget deficit is as a result of the decline in government revenues. Despite the claims of the opposition, the decline in government revenues is the single largest factor affecting the size of the deficit—a deficit that would therefore exist whether it was us in government or the Liberal Party in government. The Rudd government have put together a budget for the future of Australia. We will continue to work to uphold Australia’s AAA rating given by the Standard and Poor’s rating agency and maintain our nation’s strong financial position. The Rudd government’s decision-making through this budget and other major initiatives will see removal of significant capacity constraints that have been pushing down on our nation’s economy over past decades. Our investment in the long term will ensure that we are in a much stronger position financially into the future. We are spending responsibly on those productive elements of the economy to ensure that we have strong growth into the future.

It is not possible, given the need to provide financial stimulus to the economy and with the collapse in government revenues, to avoid deficit budgets. That is the untruth of the Liberal Party’s line. If you follow their logic, the only way that there would not be a deficit is to either dramatically increase taxes or to drastically cut government spending. Unfortunately, the opposition has yet to present which of these alternatives it intends to follow.

The budget we have delivered is economically responsible. We have delivered a budget that supports jobs. It sets up our nation in the short, medium and longer term. Unfortunately, those opposite have taken a different view. They have decided to run yet another scare campaign—something that is very easy to do from opposition. We obviously managed to do that many times ourselves from opposition. It is clear that the opposition either does not understand what is happening with the global recession or is deliberately refusing to acknowledge it. It is clear that the opposition does not have a plan to support jobs in local economies. That was clear in the lack of any alternative fiscal policy in the Leader of the Opposition’s budget in reply speech. It included a lot of talking down of the economy and a lot of scaremongering, but it did not include an alternative fiscal policy.

It feels like only yesterday that former Prime Minister John Howard was in the chamber telling us how, yet again, he would splurge the government’s boost in revenue from the mining boom. As a result of that poorly targeted investment in the past, we have seen increasing pressure on infrastructure bottlenecks, underinvestment in health and education and lack of support in the long-term sustainability of our nation’s jobs. There was so much they could have done in those 13 years with that massive amount of money. They all know that most of this deficit has been caused by the end of the mining boom and the global recession. Those opposite have clearly been outspoken in their opposition to the government’s stimulus plan and in their decision not to support many of the infrastructure building measures—opposing our investment in roads, rail, ports, schools and broadband. Those are all measures to support jobs and to grow our local economy.

I challenge those members opposite and duty senators in my electorate who do not believe to visit some of the nation-building projects in my electorate and explain why they have not supported them. I challenge them, when they come to the openings of the school buildings—because we, unlike the previous member, will invite duty senators to openings—to explain why they did not support our local economy and why they failed to support investment in local projects. I rise here today proudly to support the budget. I commend these bills to the House.

See this speech in context