Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to join with my Labor colleagues in drawing the House's attention to the unfair nature of this government's budget and the absolute damage it is doing to the Australian economy. There is only one member opposite who has actually nailed this, but they are not actually present today and that was the member who, when this budget first came down, had the courage to call this budget what it is—

This stinking, rotting carcass around this government's neck.

It has been that since day 1 and they can't shake that smell—they can't get rid of it. They have shaken it every which way, but nothing helps.

It is the Australian public that knows exactly—they have your measure on what this budget is like. The people of Newcastle know full well what this budget is doing. There is so much evidence to show, contrary to the bluster from members opposite—the busting of business confidence, the plummeting of consumer confidence post-budget. This so-called adrenalin charge is astonishing—I mean: the battery ran out sometime ago; I don't know where it has gone; but it is just spluttering along at some terrible pace behind. For people in my electorate this budget is making it harder and harder to get a job. Since this budget came down there are more than 40,000 Australians who have joined the job queue—sending the unemployment rates to the highest level since 1997.

Mr Pasin interjecting—

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