Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

This bill is about good governance. As times change, many issues of governance change with those times. Rules and regulations become obsolete, and the coalition government is taking steps to ensure business and the Australian people are not weighed down with needless imposition by government into their lives. Not only that but rescinding these unnecessary measures saves money for the government and business. This means the coalition government can once again proceed to pull Australia out of the deficit disaster and financial mire in which we were left well and truly bogged by Labor and ensure business has more time and more money with which to employ Australians.

Interestingly, I had the pleasure to be on Mornings with Steve Austin on 612 ABC Brisbane last week with the member for Oxley. He commented, as did the member for Moreton just now, that these repeal bills were nothing special—that repealing unnecessary legislation was just a part of governing. He also said that while in power Labor had repealed thousands of pieces of redundant legislation but had done so without fanfare. The lack of fanfare could have been because, at the end of the day, there was a net increase—21,000 extra pieces of legislation—under Labor.

The member for Moreton called repealing redundant legislation 'a politician's day off' and said that they had done everything without fanfare. In fact, however, then Prime Minister Rudd had a red-tape website. Under his smiling face, you could apply to get a fact sheet about red tape. So perhaps there was not as little fanfare as the member for Moreton recalls. The claim that they quietly cut red tape with a lack of fanfare is hard to believe—because the previous Rudd, Gillard and Rudd governments would turn up to the opening of an envelope if it got them media coverage. They even organised media for events that never occurred, such as when they published glossy brochures announcing they had delivered a surplus, which we know they never did. Lastly and most significantly, these repeal days actually save money—and we know that those opposite know nothing about saving money.

If what the member for Oxley said were true, then why is it necessary for this government to abolish the Fishing Industry Policy Council? Formed in 1991 by the last true Labor leader, Bob Hawke, it has met precisely zero times since its creation 23 years ago. Why is it necessary for us, the coalition, to repeal the Papua and New Guinea Loan (International Bank) Act 1970 when the loan it refers to was finalised and paid back 20 years ago when Keating was Prime Minister? Perhaps, though, we should leave that act in place as a reminder to those opposite that loans do need to be repaid.

If, as the member for Oxley—if no-one else—claims, Labor are so good at cleaning up, why are Australians of all ages, from those born today to those passing today, indebted to the tune of $15,000 each to the former Labor-Greens alliance government? A child born right now, this very minute I am speaking, is in debt because of the reckless inability of Labor and their Greens henchmen to stop burning a hole in the national credit card. We have heard a lot in this place, since the passing of Gough Whitlam, about legacy. That debt is the legacy of the last Labor rotation behind the wheel—the car crashed sideways into a tree because too many people were trying to drive and our economy was whisked away from the scene of the crime to be placed on life support.

Those opposite drone on endlessly about rising costs, about students maybe having to pay extra for their education. That would not even be an issue if mum, dad and their two children did not have a $60,000 millstone around their necks courtesy of 'the best Treasurer in the world'. Perhaps we need an omnibus edition of a new bill, one that garnishees the member for Lilley's parliamentary salary to pay the Australian taxpayer back for his hubris. I would dub the member for Lilley the Icarus of economics—except that Icarus at least made it off the ground.

The coalition government has realised more than $2 billion in savings in just two repeal days—more than double our savings target and enough money to build hospitals, to build schools, to give a pension increase or to help pay off a tiny fraction of the economic chasm left by those opposite. Frankly, listening to the other side of the chamber attempting to blame-shift is becoming as trite and transparent as the emperor's new clothes. The coalition government would prefer to spend money on those things that enhance the lives and experiences of Australians, yet we remain hobbled by a debt not of our making.

Despite the economic shambles we inherited, the coalition is governing for all Australians, not just the vested interests of Labor and its union puppeteers. I urge those opposite to remove the puppeteer's arm from the back of their shirts and support this bill for the good of Australia—to free up business to spend more time on creating wealth and jobs and to save government a significant amount of money. I congratulate the member for Kooyong on this bill and for the significant savings it will make in time and money, savings which will in turn boost productivity. I commend this bill to the House.

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