Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the member for Mayo's private member's motion relating to the lack of transparency in the Greens' policy costings. The Greens make a wonderful song and dance about open and transparent government and yet, when it comes time to be open and transparent themselves, so the community can really see what they are about and what their policies are really going to cost this nation, they shrink into the shadows and hide in the bushes. Maybe that is where they are most comfortable.

This government has form. In the past it has released policy costings, namely an executive minute detailing costings of the coalition's direct action plan as well as the updated costings on reopening the detention facility in Nauru. The fig leaf that many government speakers have tried to employ in this debate—that they cannot release information because it has been to cabinet, or some other fig leaf under the freedom of information laws—does not stand up to scrutiny They are quite happy to release information when it suits their purposes, but they are not happy to release information that will inform the notion of what this Greens-Labor government is really about.

There seems to be an obvious lack of transparency here on behalf of the Treasury and the Department of Finance and Deregulation. It seems hypocritical at best, given the Labor-Greens push for public scrutiny and more transparency whilst arguing it is in the public's best interests for them to keep these documents to themselves. To highlight this point, I refer to the Labor-Greens agreement signed in September 2010:

The Parties agree to work together to pursue the following principles:

a) transparent and accountable government;

b) improved process and integrity of parliament …

It would make anyone suspicious of the documents' contents, especially when the majority of surprises within this government have come from the Labor-Greens alliance. The Greens have not hidden the fact they wish to increase the carbon tax. Are these details being hidden from the public within one of these documents? The question of the resulting negative consequences for our economy arises.

For the past two years, the Labor-Greens government have made life increasingly difficult for hardworking Australians. Let us start with the introduction of the world's biggest carbon tax and the creation of a $10 billion slush fund for favoured renewable energy projects. The more we see and the more we hear about renewable energy, the more it suggests this is going to be $10 billion of wasted money.

Thanks to the Labor-Greens partnership, private health insurance rebates and childcare rebates have been cut—this at a time when childcare fees are increasing and public hospitals are struggling with increasing waiting lists. We have also seen the abolition of the Office of the Australian Building and Construction Commissioner, resulting in the return of union militancy to the construction industry. The Greens are also responsible for an increase in the fringe benefits tax on vehicles, for quietly dissolving work-for-the-dole schemes, for establishing an inquiry into the media and for creating marine reserves without proper community consultation. It is becoming increasingly obvious from the drop in support for the Greens that the public have had enough of their demands and are starting to see through the smokescreen.

We know that the real power in this government is held by the Greens and the decision to refuse access to their policy costings does little to dispel this perception. As the Leader of the Greens admitted recently:

… it is happening because we have shared power in Australia. Majority governments wouldn't have delivered this outcome. It is because the Greens are the balance of power and working with the other parties to deliver, not only aspirations but the process to achieve it.

We have seen, over the last little while, the creation of an enormous budget black hole by this government with the assistance of the Greens. It is time that these policy costings were transparently released for the community's benefit. (Time expired)

Debate adjourned.

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