Fiona Scott (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It never ceases to amaze me the MPIs that the opposition put up, particularly those by the member for McMahon. When I look at the MPI that he has put up today, I see that he talks about the 'adverse impact of the budget on the Australian economy'. If we really want to look at the adverse impact on the Australian economy, I think we should go to the Labor Party's hit list. What do we see? We see 200,000 more people unemployed. This is the legacy which those opposite left us with. Do you know what? That is more than the population in the whole of the Penrith area in Western Sydney. Gross debt is projected to rise to $667 billion. There is $123 billion in cumulative deficits and the world's greatest carbon tax. If you want to talk about an 'adverse impact', well, there it is, dot pointed, ready to go.

If we want to look at what those opposite have left us, it is $1 billion a month in interest payments. This is paying off a credit card with another credit card. I would like to bring home to the member for McMahon—who just happens to be my neighbour in Western Sydney—what this means. With $1 billion a month, he would probably be looking at something like Mamre Road to be upgraded, from the Great Western Highway all the way down to Elizabeth Drive. That would cost you around $800 million, member for McMahon. You could buy that in one month and still have the best part of $200,000 left over. If you want to do something for your community, member for McMahon, that is the way to go.

He also goes on in his statement about confidence. He wants to talk about confidence. He wants to put confidence back into the economy. I would like to talk to those opposite about what confidence is. Confidence is about—and it surprised me that the member for McMahon also used these words—innovation, entrepreneurship and having vision. I dare say he has not gone through any of the budget papers, particularly the one on building Australia's infrastructure. He is possibly not aware of it or even read any of the local papers that talk about the $3.5 billion worth of infrastructure that will be coming to Western Sydney, which will include Elizabeth Drive, Bringelly Road and the Northern Road. Elizabeth Drive is in his own electorate. Elizabeth Drive is going to be upgraded to a motorway-style of road. These roads will link key business parks right through Western Sydney—right through the member for McMahon's own electorate.

If you want to build confidence, what do you do? You invest in the people of Australia. You invest in our infrastructure. You create pathways for people to find more jobs. Once again, this budget delivers exactly that. If we look at what that means in Western Sydney, it will be WestConnex; in the north, it will be NorthConnex. It is $3.5 billion worth of infrastructure right here, alone, and that is where we can find the first piece of innovation, entrepreneurship and vision. I am sorry if those words are a little bit difficult for the member for McMahon to hear, because those opposite are not used to delivering on their promises—

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