Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I am a little disappointed that the Treasurer is not here to answer the charge. He made his announcement just before Christmas, and we have not seen him since. That just says everything about the Labor Party in government. We are the parties which offer stability and certainty; the Labor Party only offers chaos. Firstly, they cannot keep their word and, secondly, they cannot manage a budget.

On over 500 occasions—and we have not even started on the other ministers—the Prime Minister and the Treasurer promised to deliver a surplus in 2012-13. The Treasurer alone did so on 366 occasions since 2 May 2010. It is one thing to come out with a promise and forecasts and projections; it is yet another thing to do so with language that is extremely emphatic. Their language was totally unqualified. They benchmarked their capacity to manage the economy against that unqualified promise. They benchmarked their capacity to lift the burden of a rising cost of living off everyday Australians against that unqualified promise to deliver a surplus. They used words such as 'ironclad commitment' and 'failure is not an option.' They said the surplus would be delivered 'come hell or high water'.

These are the words of the Treasurer in this place at the time of the last budget. We all remember it because, when he said it, we all scoffed—because none of us believed it was going to be delivered. But the Treasurer stood in here just seven or eight months back, delivering the May budget, and solemnly said:

The four years of surpluses I announce tonight—

that was about where we scoffed—

are a powerful endorsement of the strength of our economy, resilience of our people, and success of our policies.

He went on to say:

This Budget delivers a surplus this coming year, on time, as promised, and surpluses each year after that, strengthening over time.

No qualification, no talk about revenue like the weasel words we heard from the Prime Minister today. Does anyone really understand what the Prime Minister said today? What she is saying is that she does not know how to explain it. But the Treasurer did not let us down. After setting that benchmark, he went further. In May the Treasurer went on:

The deficit years of the global recession are behind us. The surplus years are here.

Then he gave us a lecture about what a surplus means:

Surpluses that provide a buffer against global uncertainty, and continue to give the Reserve Bank room to cut interest rates for families like it did just last week.

So how appropriate it is that he comes into this place and boasts about the fact that the Reserve Bank did not change interest rates? He is right. These are powerful words; this is not empty rhetoric. Let us go back to the original promise that was made when the Prime Minister solemnly said in a speech to the Australian people after she had knifed Kevin Rudd, for the first time, that the surplus was essential as a benchmark for the economic credibility of the government. Thank God for television! I apologise to my friends from the print media, but they are all going into TV these days at any rate—maybe not you, Sid. There are some people who still believe in print, and long may the printed word continue. In the election campaign we thanked God for television because we have it all on tape—all the solemn promises at the community meetings, all the benchmarks about how you cannot run the economy if you cannot manage the budget. It is a bounty of riches. What does it all mean? It all means that the Prime Minister told another fib. It was unqualified. It was emphatic. It was a benchmark for the government's economic performance claim.

Of course the government did not just promise a surplus; they claimed to have delivered it already. On 24 June 2010 the Prime Minister said:

… we saved jobs, stayed out of recession and got back to surplus.

The last time Labor delivered a surplus was in 1989-90—before the member for Longman was born. What a glorious year 1989-90 was. On the eve of Christmas, the Treasurer admitted delivering the surplus was unlikely:

… dramatically lower tax revenue now makes it unlikely that there will be a surplus in 2012-13.

I wonder how the Assistant Treasurer feels about that. I do not quite have it at hand, but I seem to recall the Assistant Treasurer boasting to his constituents in Lindsay that the government had delivered a surplus. Do we all remember that? The member for Lindsay, who has now dropped the tone of his voice a few decibels in an attempt to be earnest, has to explain what happened to the surplus that he said to the people of Lindsay he had delivered. Here it is: it is headed, 'Our strong economy—how is it working for you?' Commodore, listen to this; do not be distracted by the new Attorney-General. Are you familiar with this? You sent it to your constituents. Under 'Australia's economic report card', it says:

… back in surplus, on time, as promised—in these uncertain global times there's no clearer sign of a strong economy than a surplus.

Come home spinner; come home Commodore—your mission is complete. But we have not finished with you, old china. Now we are getting all the weasel words from the government; more excuses. The Treasurer said:

We ought to be very clear about why this is the case—

That is, why they cannot get back to surplus—

it's not because the government is spending too much, it's because we didn't collect the amount of taxes we expected to collect.

So all of you Australians, you are at fault—you are not paying enough tax. It is your fault. The Prime Minister repeated that today. I could not believe my ears when I was watching intently the Prime Minister's speech at the National Press Club. The Prime Minister was determined to lock in her leadership by committing herself to an election on 14 September. Then she was prepared to commit Australians to more pain. She said Australians are not paying enough tax and that the Australian people are to blame for the government breaking over 500 promises to deliver a surplus this year. So the Australian people are to blame. The Prime Minister has a history of blaming people—she blames Kevin Rudd, she blames John Howard, she blames the G20, she blames Rob McClelland, she blames Joel Fitzgibbon and she blames her caucus. How do you feel, old china, being blamed for leaking against the government?

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