Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is an honour to speak for the first time on a matter of public importance. As if it could not get any more ironic than the topic of the MPI, I get to follow the member for Rankin. This MPI is really two MPIs in one: 'the government’s repeated failure to deliver on its election promises' and 'failure to deliver honest and accountable government'. I will talk about the second part first. I could not help but note with interest the member for Rankin's comments, and I note also that he is a doctor of economics. If I am not mistaken, the member for Fraser is also a doctor of economics and in the former parliament there was another doctor of economics, the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness. I cannot help but think that, given the fact that we are to be honest and accountable, we should start with accountability. I am glad that a medical doctor takes the Hippocratic oath and has to promise not to kill anybody, but that does not apply to doctors of economics because their field of expertise is the economy.

After six years of the Labor government, the economy is in bad shape. Yes, we are in government right now. We have $123 billion of debt in the forward estimates and gross debt will hit $667 billion. This economy is in a state of cardiac arrest. It needs strong and stable government and decisions that are taken in the nation's interest and not for political expediency. The Abbott government will do that, and I am proud to be a part of this government. It is ironic to have our honesty questioned when we have to deal with the legacy of a government responsible for probably the biggest election fraud in our history. In a lot of ways that is probably a motivation for my standing before you today.

This is a great country, but it had a bad government. This country has opportunity and prosperity in front of it, but it needs good government. As for failure to deliver our promises—and other members have commented on this—70 days without a people smuggler's boat is a start. It is not the end; it is the start. Getting the carbon tax repeal legislation through must be done. All the economists on the other side can sit around and talk about theory, but I come from a family business background. I can talk about economics in practice, what happens on the ground. The expense side of every P&L statement of every business in Australia, irrespective of size, has been mercilessly persecuted over the last six years.

It will be small and medium-sized businesses that will solve the employment problem this country has. Whilst today is a tragic day for Qantas, it will not be government, it will not be unions and it will not be big businesses that solve the employment issues this country has. It will be, as it has always been, small and medium-sized businesses that do so. They are the backbone of not only Reid but Australia and they should be supported. The best way to support them is to allow us to implement our election commitment, get out of the expense side of their profit and loss statements and let them employ people.

This government is building infrastructure, and in my electorate that infrastructure is the WestConnex. My electorate is cut in half, and Parramatta Road has become slower and slower. It is great to be out on the ground, working with my two state colleagues in delivering this vital piece of infrastructure. Parramatta Road is a car dealership haven. It is also great to be part of a government that did not follow through with an act of lunacy that would have killed car dealerships Australia wide by not legislating on the fringe benefits tax. These are some of the issues we have confronted already. I, like my colleagues, urge those opposite to get out of our way and let us get on with offering Australia the government it voted in on 7 September. We will make decisions to enable companies to do the lifting and employ people to give our kids the future they deserve.

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