Ken O'Dowd (Flynn, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, they have not got a carbon tax in those countries, and their emissions are coming down also.

Our credit card level went from $75 billion to $200 billion to $250 billion, and now she is raring up towards $300 billion. On the forward estimates, it is going to end up at nearly $400 billion. So where do we go? The member for Oxley said, 'We'd like to be here for another 20 years.' At this rate, there would not be many Australians left, that is for sure. We would all have to be overseas looking for work. Since 2007 electricity costs have gone up by 93 per cent, water and sewerage costs 63 per cent, utilities 79 per cent, gas 61 per cent, insurance 45 per cent, education 38 per cent, health services 40 per cent and rents 30 per cent. We talk about a low interest rate of 2.75 per cent, but I know a guy in my electorate who went to a bank yesterday for a loan for a small business and was quoted 14 per cent. So the 2.75 per cent is the cash rate but in reality, if you want to try and borrow money, do not expect 2.75 per cent. In fact, do not expect 4.75 per cent; expect a lot more.

If this country needs to kick-start our economy, there are a lot of things that we can do. This is what you do not do: there is an immigration budget blow-out of $6.6 billion and an NBN blow-out of $44.1 billion, and nearly $70 million has been spent on the carbon tax, including $100,000 on three fake kitchens for the carbon tax ads. They could not just pick an ordinary kitchen. No, they had to go and build three kitchens for $100,000. A hundred thousand dollars was spent on compensation for the live export fiasco. A hundred and fifty million a year is being spent on spin doctors to sell Labor's policies. Wait for this: the knifing of Kevin Rudd cost $1.3 million in staff redundancy packages. Unbelievable! Furthermore, $10 million was donated to the trade unions in the last year's budget. The failed Malaysian solution cost $5 million. The list goes on and on and on.

I have a lot more to say, but I should read out this unprompted email I received today from an Emerald businessman:

Now about the IR laws Government need to know this company Western Gateway Motel—

that is his motel—

has chosen to close the restaurants on Sunday nights and all public holidays because of the high cost of employment with penalty rates [that no other country in the world pays] in these economic times. It's very noticeable when you get backpackers offering to work for no penalty rates just to get a job and they can't understand if they sign a piece of paper with that offer, if accepted, and the company got caught, the person responsible could go to jail with a heavy fine.

…   …   …

It's alright for Shorten to say that he wants Australians to be the best paid in the world, lets hope there is a job at the end of it. We are competing against America at $17.00 per hour.

The Rudd government has definitely failed to appropriately manage this economy. There are several more examples I do not have time to go into—with 30 seconds left on the clock. But, needless to say, we have to get our country going: our mining industry is in a state of flux, our manufacturing industry is in a state of flux, our cement industry is in a state of flux and our dairy industry is gone, or nearly gone. We need to get in and give them the incentives they need. Cut the red tape and cut it quick. Bring on September 14 as quickly as possible, because people are out there suffering and they need help.

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