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

Too much spending, too much debt, I hear the member for Bass say—as well as 16 years of Labor governments. The Nationals-Liberal government under Barry O'Farrell and Andrew Stoner inherited a mess. They followed a government which had lost control, but they did take some tough decisions early. They had to. While I must admit the debt and deficit problem our state colleagues inherited was nowhere near the projections of $667 billion that we have been saddled with—it is not just we; it is the taxpayers of Australia—no-one can argue that they did not get on with the job and make the tough decisions. Our state colleagues, with a strong Nationals team behind them, know how to grow an economy. They know how to grow an economy and they are doing it now in collaboration with the Abbott-Truss government.

It is in the DNA of Labor governments, whether here in Canberra or in Sydney, to borrow and spend beyond their means. Get these stupid campaigns on the back of beer coasters like NBN and pink batts and school halls that were overpriced beyond their means, and then expect future generations to pay for them. Inside Labor is a conviction to promise policies it knows it will never have to deliver, like it did with Gonski. Years five and six—that is where the big money was. But, under us, under the coalition, there is actually more money in the four years of the forward estimates.

Like the budget of our colleagues in New South Wales, our federal budget sets us on the course to get the debt under control. It sets the course to ensure the government can actually afford to build the infrastructure and services which underpin economic growth. It sets us on the course to ensure, just as the member for Bega in New South Wales aptly put it in parliament today, that the government is in control of its budget, and not the other way around. Just like our colleagues in Macquarie Street, we are going to get on with the job of making the tough decisions.

We know that those opposite, particularly the member for Maribyrnong, were plagued by the New South Wales disease in government—never quite sure who to pick as leader and more interested in the follies of factional fighting. They were navel gazing; they were inward looking. That is typical Labor: more worried about who is going to lead them and which faction is fighting which than about getting on with the job of governing—whether it is New South Wales and governing the state or whether it is federal and governing the nation.

What the New South Wales budget today also highlights is an understanding—an understanding etched into the minds of coalition members of parliament, particularly the Nationals—that strong regions make for a strong economy. When I say 'the Nationals', I should also include the rural Liberals. We have some good rural Liberals. I can see the member for Barker, the member for Durack over there, and the member for Paterson here at the table. They are good rural Liberals—getting on with the job of building the infrastructure that we need. We know that the regions produce the food, the fibre and the mining wealth that makes this country great. That food, fibre and mining wealth were badly impacted by Labor's policies. Whether it was the Murray-Darling Basin fiasco or the minerals resource rent tax tax—no matter what it was, Labor stood in the way of us getting on with the job of generating growth, creating jobs for people and getting people, as this budget has done, to either earn or learn.

We on this side understand that investing in good country roads not only improves the safety and security of country commuters but assists in getting product to market. It is not only about helping commuters; it is about getting commerce happening. That is something Labor never understood in government and could not care less about in opposition. This budget certainly delivers for country roads. Country roads are at the forefront of the $50 billion in infrastructure spending. I would argue that is as it should be. We are building, maintaining and improving our critical roads—the infrastructure arteries which keep our economy, our nation, moving. Whether it is the Bruce Highway, the Pacific Highway or the Warrego Highway, this government knows how crucial these roads are and will invest in making them better.

But it does not stop there. Our National Stronger Regions Fund, which will begin on 1 July 2015, is part of the strategy—our strategy—to make sure the regions are at the forefront of getting the nation's finances back in order and investing in growth for the future. Country people get that. Country people understand that you cannot spend beyond your means, country people understand that you cannot spend more than what you earn and country people, like coalition MPs, understand that we have to pay back Labor's debt so that we do not saddle future generations with far greater debt and deficits than they can manage. (Time expired)

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