Kerry Rea (Bonner, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to speak in support of Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2009-2010 and Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2009-2010 and indeed to commend the Prime Minister, the Treasurer and all of those involved in preparing this very significant budget for 2009-10. It is interesting that many opposition members in their speeches have claimed that this is a big spending government and that the government is being reckless. Yet all we hear in every single speech is a long list of those things on which they would want the government to spend more and very little by way of telling us where they would get the saving and the cuts to achieve that.

I know this is mentioned every single day in the House and outside but we do have to understand the context in which this budget was drafted and delivered. It is something that the Australian community understands but, unfortunately, the opposition clearly do not understand, and that is the significant context in which this budget was drafted. They simply do not understand that we are in the middle of a global recession. We are in the middle of the worst global financial crisis in 75 years. It may sound like a mantra but we are hearing that statement over and over because it is a fact. It is a statement of truth. You only need to look at the economic indicators across the world, you only need to listen to economic experts and you only need to look at the facts and figures. Everything will tell you that we are in a serious global recession. We are in the worst financial crisis in 75 years.

In that context a budget must be drafted that not only provides the necessary goods and services that the Australian community expects from the Commonwealth government, that not only delivers stimulus and support for the economy, particularly in the area of employment to protect and support jobs, but also provides a path out of economic downturn and sets this nation, builds this nation, to be prepared for the recovery to come.

In that context, on the one hand the government must support the economy and provide nation building projects which will keep people in employment and provide the infrastructure that our community needs; on the other hand the government has had to deal with a drop of $210 billion in revenues for this year—the health budget for four years. That is a significant drop in revenue; indeed the most significant single contribution to the deficit presented by the Treasurer in this budget.

In that context I do not think anyone across the Australian community would diminish the challenge that was faced by the Treasurer and the government in drafting this budget. It is important therefore to acknowledge that in that context it was necessary to go into a reasonable level of debt in order to support our economy, employment and significant nation building projects. I believe the Australian community understands that rather than see us fall prey to the significant impact of the global financial crisis, rather than see the Australian economy dwindle even further into recession, the government must play an active role in providing the stimulus to the economy that will buffer us against the bad times and set us in a good position to deal with the good times. For that reason, I accept that there does need to be a responsible level of debt, which there is in this particular budget. We are talking about the lowest level of debt of any of the major Western economies. We are talking about a level of debt in this financial year of 4.9 per cent of GDP. When you compare that to the United States where we see a level of debt of 61.1 per cent of GDP, I think everybody would acknowledge that this is a responsible level of debt that we can manage, but an important part of providing the very much needed funding for our services and projects.

The budget also acknowledges that it does mean we are in a temporary deficit. When you see the level of economic difficulty being confronted by major economies across the world—Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States or others—it is appreciated that it was inevitable that we would go into deficit in these very difficult times. What is significant about this budget is that the government has provided a path to recovery and one which I endorse.

I cannot present these points enough; I cannot get this message across enough; you will hear from many government speakers this same message. The reason is that it is still falling on deaf ears. The opposition can speak in the parliament for an hour on a matter of public importance to do with the economy and not once mention the global recession. Indeed, only this morning I was asked by a journalist to comment on a quote by a member of the opposition, a Liberal MP, a backbencher, who said, ‘This is the recession we didn’t have to have.’ When you are dealing with that level of denial, when you are dealing with that level of blinkered vision in such significant economic times it is no wonder that they cannot actually come up with an alternative plan and that they cannot support what the government is trying to do. They simply do not understand.

What they do not understand is that it is actually in times like this that governments must step to the fore, must take an active role in both the economy and the community and must lead if we are to recover from these very difficult times. It is a time when the government must make some tough decisions and there are tough decisions in this budget. When you take something away from someone then it is a tough decision. We all know that.

At the same time, I believe that the tough decisions that have been made in this budget have been made in a fair manner, in a way that still supports those who are most vulnerable and indeed most in need. But it acknowledges that there are people who can afford to pay their way a bit more and who should and would appreciate that in these tough times we all have to take a little bit of the pain.

Nevertheless, what I am so proud of is that in this budget there are some significant reforms. The government has delivered on some very vital commitments to people in our community who, unfortunately, have been ignored in the past. We go no further than the pension reforms contained in this budget—an increase in the base rate of the pension, one that we have not seen for many decades in this country. The 16,204 pensioners in Bonner will, I know, be most appreciative not just of the increase in their income but that it comes as a permanent increase to the base rate so that they are not continually waiting, from budget to budget, from year to year, to find out whether they get the crumbs of a bonus out of a budget. They can be much more secure in their income.

As a woman and a mother, to me one of the most significant elements of this budget is the Treasurer’s commitment to introduce paid parental leave in 2011. We all know that many women work because they need to. We also know that it is the right of every woman to have the choice to have a career or not. It should not be to the detriment of her life or the life of her family. She should not have to make a choice between a mortgage and child care or children and a career. It should be a fundamental right, and it is one that many women aspire to. The fact that this government has finally acknowledged that it has a role to play in supporting women in the workforce and also supporting families when a newborn child comes along is a significant advancement. As a woman who has argued strongly all my life for better rights for women, for equality for women, I am so proud to be part of the government that has finally introduced this into the parliament.

I am also very proud that, although these are difficult economic times and the government acknowledges that it must introduce and support projects in the community that will provide employment and support various communities, it does not just do that willy-nilly. It does that in a way that will be sustainable in the future, and as a result we have initiatives around clean energy and support for insulation, for example. It is not just, once again, an acknowledgement that these are emerging industries and sectors of our economy; it is government support so that these sectors will flourish and develop into whole new areas of employment and enterprise. They are the industries of the future that will protect our environment, and our planet and community will be much healthier and secure because we put the support, when it was needed, into promoting alternative energy sources and supporting a reduction in our emissions and our dependence on coal-fired power.

The significance of the reforms of this budget, as I said earlier, is that we are a government that take on the responsibility and the challenges of difficult times and say, ‘What can we do that will not only get us through these difficult times but also see us become a much more prosperous and much more sustainable, and therefore a much more progressive, community in the future?’ By investing in social housing, by supporting paid parental leave, by supporting pensioners, by investing in clean energy initiatives—these are the things that we have said government can be active on; we can play a role. And guess what? As a result of that, we can actually create a better community for not just ourselves but for the future. The further significance of this budget is that these projects, these initiatives, are being rolled out across the country.

Certainly in the electorate of Bonner there are a number of very important and vital educational, community and environmental projects that are being supported. Indeed, as a result of the government’s investment in stimulating the economy and supporting nation-building projects, there are 478 projects totalling $31,571,013 in commitments to infrastructure in Bonner. Those figures defy belief. They demonstrate that in just one electorate alone the government saw the need to support so many different projects. There is $25,825,013 to support 45 schools across the electorate of Bonner, both public and private. I am particularly pleased to point out a couple of these projects.

The Hemmant State School is a very small school. It has around 60 students. It is set in a semirural area right smack bang in the industrial part of the Australian trade coast port of Brisbane—a beautiful school. It has major significance in Queensland because it is the oldest continuously operating state school in the state. So it is one that has a long and proud heritage. The $75,000 in the budget that will extend the tuckshop does not seem much, but when you are looking at such a small school community with a P&C that are struggling to raise funds you appreciate just how significant that is. Two hundred thousand dollars is going to Holland Park State School to extend the instrumental music area and the art area. Manly State School is getting a multipurpose hall worth $3 million. They are just a few of the many projects that are going into our school community. The Gumdale school hall is receiving $1½ million to provide not just a state-of-the-art, very modern facility for the Gumdale State School students but a community facility, one that does not exist in what is a very new and developing suburb, and a facility that is much needed.

The importance of supporting our educational facilities goes without saying. These projects will make such a difference and are so important to the people of Bonner and, indeed, to all of us here on the government side. ‘The biggest school modernisation program in history’: it is not just a phrase but a reality because the numbers are quite clearly here in the budget.

But of course it does not stop there. There is $750,000 in black spot funding to the Wynnum North roundabout on Wynnum North Road and Wynnum Road, a roundabout that is close to a busy high school, a roundabout that sees a lot of traffic going through it every day. We all know that where you have schoolchildren and a lot of traffic road safety has to be your highest priority. I am very pleased that the government has put $750,000, three-quarters of a million dollars, into making this roundabout safer for the Wynnum North State High School children and indeed the residents of that area.

Of course, we do not just stop at roads and schools. We also acknowledge how important community infrastructure is. We are putting into the Manly Pool, a pool that has been down on the bay side, on the foreshore, for many years—a long time ago I even swam there as a child—$500,000 for a much-needed upgrade, very much overdue. That will combine with council funding to see that pool receiving $1.3 million for an upgrade for the residents of that area. The foreshore of Manly and Wynnum is a part of Brisbane that is enjoyed by many residents. I know that that upgrade will be greatly appreciated.

It therefore stuns me when I hear the contributions made by the opposition in this budget debate. When you look at these sorts of projects, the myriad safety measures and community infrastructure, that are being funded by this budget, it just astounds me that we have an opposition that is not prepared to support these very important projects but at the same time is putting on the table a whole range of other initiatives that it believes money should be spent on but then is running a public campaign to attack the government about debt and deficit. It just is not the luxury of opposition in times like this to throw it all out there and pretend that you are not taking responsibility. We need support. We need action. We actually need some leadership from the parliament to get us through these tough times and to acknowledge that our community needs this infrastructure.

I mentioned social housing earlier. Once again, the government is responding to a decline in the construction industry by not just creating jobs for jobs sake but creating jobs that will build homes for families and others in our community who are the most vulnerable. In fact, in Mount Gravatt East in the electorate of Bonner, the Queensland government is kicking off investment in social housing. It is funding that in partnership with the federal government. I was very pleased to be on the construction site to see one fairly well-used house sitting on a very large block being replaced by six brand-new units that will house six families. One of the units is fitted for disability. This is not just about investing in construction; this is about building and reinvigorating our community and supporting those people who are the most vulnerable.

The government has acknowledged the need to borrow but also created a plan to pay that back and bring the economy back. After all of the initiatives in this budget, we have simply heard one measure from the opposition, and that is to take more money out of the budget by not supporting the proposed means testing for the private health insurance rebate. Of all the initiatives, the opposition feels that it is important to support the wealthiest in our community to continue to be subsidised by the taxpayer to take out private health insurance. But they are not supporting the tuck shop extensions for 45 schools. (Time expired)

See this speech in context