Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

The 2010-11 Labor budget is a typical big-spending budget, to counter a recession Australia never had. This budget is an even bigger spending budget fuelled by new taxes on cigarettes and mining. It is a simple demonstration that you cannot trust this government to even identify a surplus, let alone look at delivering one. Labor has categorically failed to control its reckless spending after the global financial crisis. This budget sees $26 billion in new spending since the last budget—hardly an austerity measure to be proud of. This budget is built on the twin towers of two new taxes: mining, $12 billion, and cigarettes, $5.5 billion. This budget does not even have the capacity to sort out its spending on its own right: vast and expansive new taxes had to be added so that this budget would even come together, let alone look credible. This budget will continue to put enormous pressure on interest rates as cash floods through the economy—all borrowed, and that borrowing crowds out the borrowing of small to medium business, forcing interest rates up once again.

It is ironic that Labor’s figures in this budget are vastly different to what they predicted in the last budget. Economic growth this year was supposed to fall by 0.5 per cent, but now we are told it will actually grow by two per cent. Yet our ability to repay the mounting and vast debt—an extra $40 billion alone in net debt in this budget—is all based on the Treasurer’s guesswork. The Treasurer is putting the country at risk with massive higher taxes, massive higher spending, higher interest rates from inflationary pressure and higher investment premiums, and a crowding out of private sector investors who are also looking for debt to expand their programs. Logically it has to result in lower growth due to the fiscal drag that debt always puts on an economy.

Peak public debt will now be $93.7 billion by 2013. The last Labor government took 12 to 13 years to reach this figure. This government is taking a fraction of that time. In fact, this government is borrowing $100 million a day. That is $4 million an hour. By the time I finish speaking, this government will have borrowed a million bucks to fuel its spending spree that it refuses to get under control. This government cannot spell austerity, let alone meet it. The average Australian family will be paying over $1,000 a year just to pay the interest on Labor’s debt. It is remarkable that all the Labor governments in the history of our Federation have left the nation in debt—all of them. Labor is addicted to spending. We now have another four years of deficit, all because of one quarter of negative growth in 2008.

It would appear that any improvement on the bottom line is going to be through good luck and the grace of God, because it certainly cannot be put down to sound management. If we look at Labor’s programs budget line by budget line we see blow out by blow out. We see a home insulation program with a billion dollar repair job. The member for Longman had the temerity to say, ‘Yes, there was a tragic loss of four lives in the insulation debacle, but in the previous 10 years there was the loss of five lives; therefore, under this program there has been half as many and that’s a good thing.’ May I remind the member for Longman that any needless death of a young Australian is a dreadful thing, especially at the hands of an incompetent government and an incompetent program. He said, ‘Sure, there are 300,000 houses whose insulation must be checked, but that is all right as there are 800,000 that are fine, and those 800,000 will be enjoying lower electricity bills.’ My heart goes out to the 300,000 families whose mums and dads each night tuck their kids in and look at their ceiling and wonder what is up there. I guess that did not cross the member for Longman’s mind.

We have the Julia Gillard memorial halls—a proper noun. The Building the Education Revolution has a $1.7 billion program blow-out and a waste which could be as high as $8 billion. This could be the most wasteful program in the history of the nation. The computers in schools program has a billion-dollar blow-out. The National Broadband Network, which needed $4.7 billion to give broadband to 98 per cent of Australian homes, now needs $43 billion to give broadband to 90 per cent of Australia homes—a $38.3 billion blow-out. The consultancy contracts this government said it would halve are now $605 million plus.

It is instructive to look line by line at the achievements of this government. Those in the nation who would like to see Labor’s election promises will find it difficult because the 2007 election promises have been removed from the ALP website. Clearly, you are so proud of the promises you took to the nation when you looked them in the eye and said, ‘This is what Labor stands for.’ Clearly, you were so proud of what you stood for that you have taken them down from your website. You organised the best and the brightest summit, yet I cannot think of a single thing out of it that you have used—not one. You brought together 1,000 people and thought you would open up government to scrutiny.

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