Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this MPI. We have just had the budget. Everybody knows it is not that popular. When you look around the country, people should be asking themselves: why did they do this, why did they have a budget which is that unpopular, why would they do that to themselves? It is about accountability and responsibility. It is about looking into the future, looking at young people—like those young students up there in the gallery—being able to look them in the eye and say, 'No, you don't have to bear the responsibilities of the red-ink side of parliament and your children will not have to bear that responsibility,' because someone is going to stand up and start acting right now. The opposition over there, the last government—an organisation that was nothing but red ink—talk about their Building the Education Revolution which they presided over, a program which did nothing but revolve like money down a plug hole. Where was the response to the revolution they presided over? There has been nothing but a decline in our education outcomes compared to other countries.

What they provided us was red ink and generational debt, which someone has to act on. So when the rubber hits the road, someone needs to make decisions for this country to live within its means. Someone has to ask everybody to help pay for what was left to Australians and to future generations. That is where it all comes out in the end. No-one likes it. I am not happy that people in my electorate have to pay a little bit more or not get as much from the government because of the last six years of spending, borrowing and promises that would see this country, over 10 years, go to $667 billion in debt. Who can say there is no problem when $1 billion a month is required just to service the debt they left? Who can say that that is good or that that is appropriate? Something needs to happen. Someone needs to take responsibility. As I said yesterday in our party room, if doing the right thing for future generations costs me my position, then that is the way it should be. People should not just accept what the other side is saying—that there is no problem, you can keep on spending, you can keep getting everything you need.

If the red-ink side of politics got back into government, we would probably be up around the one trillion mark very quickly and how soon is that going to be paid off? I worry for future generations—not just the next two but after that as well. Someone has to take charge and someone needs to accept the responsibility. I am hoping that the Australian people will come along with this and will understand that something needs to be done. We just cannot go on backing a side which just talks about self-interest, which reaches out to people and says, 'You don't have to worry about it. You've got nothing to do with this. We can keep on going in the same way,' because it is just not true. The time has come.

What I like about the education spending in the budget is that the minister has been able to put $1.2 billion back into the schools budget to help Western Australian schools, Queensland schools and Northern Territory schools. So as we move through the forward estimates, contrary to the mendacious comments of the other side, the government have increased education spending. So what they say is not true when they criticise and talk about cuts. The budget has to be sustainable across the education portfolio and across all portfolios. One side is taking responsibility, realising that something needs to be done and not inflicting debt, deficit and lost opportunities on the next generation and the generation after that. Only one side is standing up for the future of this country, rather than those who betrayed the future of this country.

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