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

I was referring to the fact that the pot was calling the kettle black. Certainly it is a bit rich for the opposition leader, the member for Maribyrnong, to call anybody a ventriloquist dummy. The Australian public have not forgotten his mob. They have not forgotten, and they will not forget when the next election comes around, the six years of waste, mismanagement and total incompetence.

Mr Thistlethwaite interjecting—

The member for Kingsford Smith is yelling out something in favour of his leader. He could do a lot better job, because the Leader of the Opposition is not listening, and his frontbench were not listening to him either. But I was listening in question time. I heard the member for North Sydney, the Treasurer, talking about 106,000 jobs in four months created under the coalition. I heard the member for New England, the Minister for Agriculture, talk about the fact that it was Labor that wanted to put a 6.85 per cent increase on the price of diesel

I heard the member for Curtin, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, talk about the fact that, under our policies, the live cattle trade has been reignited and 230,000 head of cattle have been shipped to Indonesia. That is of the 585,000 head of cattle that have been moved since we took back office.

I heard the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the member for Cook, talk about 168 days without a boat—and 100 days without a question from the member for McMahon. No wonder the member for McMahon, the shadow minister, does not want to get up and ask the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection a question. He is embarrassed about the fact that, under his watch and under Labor's six years, 55,000 people came to these shores unauthorised and they are currently in detention centres—mind you, nine of which we have closed under our policies because the boats have stopped. Each and everyone of those 55,000 people cost taxpayers, cost the public purse, $170,000 to process. It is just a disgrace. Under our policies, we are saving people's lives. We have stopped the boats and we are saving people's lives.

We also heard the Treasurer talk about the billion dollars of interest that is being racked up each and every month because of the interest bill on the debt and deficit left by that fellow over there, the member for Lilley. I might read from his 2012-13 budget speech. Member for Lilley, I hope you are listening. He began:

The four years of surpluses I announce tonight are a powerful endorsement of the strength of our economy, resilience of our people, and success—

success?—

of our policies.

Have you ever? He pretends not to listen. He went on to say:

In an uncertain and fast changing world, we walk tall—as a nation confidently living within its means.

Have you ever—'living within its means'!

That is what our budget is getting on with the job of doing. We are going to live within our means. Under the member for Lilley, we certainly did not live within our means. We just maxed out the credit card each and every day, each and every week and each and every month under his stewardship as Treasurer of this country. Our future generations are going to being paying dearly for the mess that he left us, the mess that Labor left us. But we are getting on with the job, because we now have a responsible Treasurer and we have people on this side of the House who know business and understand that you cannot spend more money than you earn. How many of you people have actually been in a small business, a farm or—

Government members interjecting—

Exactly; we see lots of raised hands. How many people on the opposite side have? None; nobody put up their hand. I am not the first person to ask that question. The Treasurer did and he got the same sort of response, because they do not understand business.

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