Janelle Saffin (Page, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to talk generally about the budget and the budget priorities and the government's handling of this, particularly over the last four years since the federal Labor Party came to government. One of the things that I always find rather puzzling is the view put, particularly by the coalition, that only they can manage the economy and only they can manage the government. Yet, if you read the history of budgets, of macro and microeconomic reform and of federal governments in Australia, you will see that that is simply not true; it is not borne out by the facts. The major reforms to our economy actually started in modern times during the period of the Hawke-Keating governments. But I have to say that, at the time, there were a few more 'yeses' from the then coalition opposition than we hear now. All we hear now from the opposition is 'no, no, no'—whatever it is. It is almost like a case of 'cut off your nose to spite your face'. They do not know when to say yes. A measure of an effective and credible opposition is knowing when to say yes.

What I want to talk about is this Labor government's budget. It builds on that history of reform, and it has done so since coming to government in 2007—and each budget thereafter, including this budget, reflects that. This budget reflects two essential things. One is keeping the economy strong—strengthening it where it needs to. That is necessary if you want to spend, and we need to spend because of the priorities that have to be funded in the electorates. I know that governments, whoever they are, have every backbencher at them wanting some of that money spent in their electorates. I am no different; I always want my share. But for a government to spend across the nation you need a strong economy. You also need—and this is the second essential thing and the essence of the Labor Party and what it does in government—to inculcate a fair go. That is inherent in this budget and in the way that the budget spend is prioritised. But this also means that there have to be savings; it has to be a responsible budget.

One thing that I have always said is that I am not in parliament to help the Mr Packers, the Mr Palmers, the Mr Forrests and the Ms Rineharts. It is nothing personal. Many of these people do big things and some do it more than others in terms of their sense of corporate social responsibility, which is a key—

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