Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Hunter is embarrassed, because he probably read, as I did, the Australian of 2 June where it said 'Coalition cuts water buybacks'—and we have—'Labor accused of spending $1.5 billion on projects that didn't help Murray flows'. It was all about the environment, wasn't it, Member for Hunter? It was all about putting money into bureaucracy and spending money on everything bar helping those people who grow food and fibre, helping those people who you should have been getting in and assisting by insisting that your two Prime Ministers help them. Actually we had three, I suppose—three different sorts of Prime Ministers but two different people. It was just shuffling the deckchairs on the Titanic.

Under Labor we spent far too much money on bureaucracy, far too much money on water buybacks—taking water out of those valuable irrigation communities—far too much money on health bureaucracy and far too much waste. We could talk about pink batts and overpriced school halls, but we are not going to. We are going to be positive. We are going to talk about this budget being a key component of the Abbott government's economic action strategy, which will build a strong, prosperous economy and a safe, secure Australia. That is the job that we are getting on with doing.

The infrastructure growth package takes the government's transport investment to $50 billion by 2019-20. As a result, total infrastructure investment from Commonwealth, state and local governments as well as the private sector will build to more than $125 billion by 2019-20. That is a great investment in Australia. We have the infrastructure Prime Minister. We have got 'Australia open for business'. Andrew Robb, the Minister for Trade and Investment, was out forging key preferential trade negotiations with Korea and Japan. That would not have happened under Labor.

The government is creating the world's largest medical research endowment fund—a $20 million Medical Research Future Fund. Contributions to the fund are coming from a new patient contribution to health services and from other health savings. We have to get on with the job of making some savings, because of the mess we were left by your mob—the debt we were left by Labor. This endowment fund, when mature, will double current direct medical research funding with an additional $1 billion a year. And who knows what sort of great medical research will come from that.

Young people with a work capacity will be required to be earning, learning or participating in Work for the Dole. There is nothing wrong with that. People cannot expect to just keep getting a government cheque. They cannot expect to just keep getting money which is actually coming out of the pockets of other Australian taxpayers. The buck has to stop. It stopped on 13 May when the member for North Sydney, the Treasurer, brought down his budget.

Businesses will receive up to $10,000 for employing workers older than 50—that is a good initiative—who have been on income support for six months or more, meaning that there will be stronger incentives to hire older workers. We are getting on with the job of giving people incentives to work. We are getting on with the job of making sure people either learn or they earn.

The government will reform the age pension to make it sustainable. We have to make our country sustainable. Our health system has to be sustainable. We are getting on with the job of making Australia a fairer, stronger nation—we have to.

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