Luke Hartsuyker (Cowper, National Party, Assistant Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

Yes, he missed the minus sign. The member for Paterson informs me that the member for Lilley, our former Treasurer, missed the minus sign when he was reading the budget papers and said, 'The four surpluses I announce tonight'! We are about working to get the budget back in the black, building a strong economy and delivering surpluses into the future. That is what we are about. Also, very importantly, we are about having a strong, efficient and effective aviation industry. We are not going to achieve that by protectionism. We are not going to achieve that by artificially propping up Qantas. The best way to do that is to free it of the shackles that are impeding its ability to compete in an efficient way against its competitors.

We know that the Labor Party have in the past considered the issue of changing the foreign ownership restrictions; but when the idea comes from the government, what do they do? They immediately oppose it. They know the repeal of the carbon tax would be good for the aviation industry, but what do they do? They oppose the repeal of the carbon tax. They know it is costing jobs. They know it is costing the people that they purport to represent, yet still they continue with this old protectionist dogma. Protection is no substitute for an efficient airline industry run on a competitive basis. I look forward to the members opposite changing their view, seeing the light, as it were, getting behind the government and supporting our proposed change so that we can have a strong, efficient Qantas into the future, so that the aviation industry can prosper and so that the kangaroo can continue to fly.

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