Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I do appreciate the opportunity to address the issue before the chair today. The simple truth is that today the government delivered on a fundamental election commitment. We promised to abolish the mining tax, and we promised to abolish the spending associated with the mining tax—spending that was not sustained by the tax that raised no revenue—and today that is precisely what this government has done. I thank crossbench members of the Senate. I thank the member for Fairfax for the assistance that he has given to the government to deliver on this fundamental election commitment. If members opposite led by the Leader of the Opposition were not in denial about the result of last year's election, the deal that they now complain of would never have been necessary.

The Leader of the Opposition is angry. He is obviously angry. He is understandably angry, because what we have seen today is a government that is succeeding and an opposition that is failing and, indeed, an opposition leader who is drowning. That is all we have seen today. The Leader of the Opposition must have expected his suspension would be gaged, because plainly he did not have a speech to deliver in support of the suspension motion that he moved.

I want to make it absolutely crystal clear that this is a government that is delivering on its commitments. We said we would abolish the carbon tax, and the carbon tax is gone; we said we would stop the boats, and the boats are stopping; we said we would build the roads of the 21st century, and those roads are powering ahead; and we said we would bring the budget back under control, and I cannot say it is easy to address the debt and deficit disaster that members opposite left us but that loathsome legacy is being addressed by this government.

What are we seeing from members opposite? We are seeing the whole gamut from members opposite. They are complaining that we do not keep commitments and then they are complaining that we do keep commitments. The one constant is that they are complaining. This is not an opposition leader who is running an alternative government—this is an opposition leader who is running the national complaints bureau! That is all he can do. Until such time as the Leader of the Opposition remembers that the job of opposition is to be a constructive alternative, Labor will be in the doldrums.

The Labor Party in government could not be trusted with border security. It has learned nothing in opposition. In government it could not be trusted with public finances. It has learned nothing in opposition. This is a Labor Party that damaged our country in government and now is attempting to damage our country from opposition. This government is doing what it can and should to faithfully deliver on its election commitments. We said that we would abolish the mining tax because the mining tax was damaging investments, damaging jobs, failing to raise the revenue that was claimed for it, and involving the spending of unsustainable billions of dollars. Today, the mining tax is gone. We said that we would abolish the low-income superannuation contribution, and it will go. We said that we would abolish the income support bonus, and it will go. We said that we would abolish the schoolkids bonus, and it is going. All this is not because we do not want to see a good deal for the people of Australia but because these things are not a good deal for the people of Australia if they are funded by unsustainable borrowing, if they are unsupported by the kind of economy that we need and if we are to have a generous social service system.

Is the deal that was done with crossbench senators today perfect? No it is not, but it is a better deal than to leave this unsustainable mining tax and the spending associated with it in place forever. This is a government that is prepared to work with the parliament—a parliament that the people of Australia elected—to do the right thing by the people of Australia.

Throughout question time today, members opposite acted as though the superannuation guarantee levy was the perfect answer to every person's retirement dreams. For the benefit of members opposite, let me remind them that there is no nirvana in superannuation guarantee levies, as the Henry tax review reported:

… employees bear the cost of these contributions through lower wage growth.

The Leader of the Opposition himself, in one of his rare lucid moments, admitted this on the Neil Mitchell program in 2010. The Henry report goes on to say—

Mr Shorten interjecting—

I am sorry? Are you okay?

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

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