Nickolas Varvaris (Barton, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is a privilege to address the House in the last sitting of the year. As we wind down our parliamentary business and take stock of the year that has been, it is timely to reflect on the legacy left to us by Labor after six years in office and celebrate the new legacy we are writing after a year in office. Just over a year ago, Australia had had a gutful of the chaotic dysfunction that the populace had come to expect of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd leadership. Live export shipments were halted overnight, throwing our trade relations into chaos. Labor's commitment to slugging the people with the world's biggest carbon tax consistently outranked its promise to honour its commitments. Surpluses were promised, falsely announced, and hastily recanted. Prime ministers were deposed overnight. Portfolios were switching hands like hot potatoes. Prime ministerial planes were diverted at the passing whim of every prime ministerial thought bubble. The legacy that was left to Australians by this level of chaos, paucity of ideas and severe lack of respectable governance is dire. Labor's legacy to Australia is 200,000 more unemployed, gross debt projected to rise to $667 billion, and $123 billion in cumulative deficits.

Today, over a year after the coalition team was given a mandate to take the reins and get the nation into order, we look back upon an action-packed year of challenges and achievements. In our first year in office we repealed the world's biggest carbon tax, saving the average Australian family $550 per year and reducing the cost of electricity for small businesses by up to 10 per cent. Small business is the engine room of the economy, and the family budget is the document that provides the most meaningful reflection upon the state of the nation's finances. By easing the pressure on both these institutions with our tax-repealing and red-tape-cutting measures, the coalition is delivering for the Australian people where it matters most. We repealed the mining tax, giving our natural resources sector room to grow and prosper. And we are a government that unequivocally supports the mining sector, because we want to see a strong Australia and a strong economy that produces jobs for Australian workers.

We have seen major infrastructure wins right across this country: a $50 billion infrastructure program that includes major projects in every state that will save Australians time and money. Groundbreaking projects such as the WestConnex are on track to make a real difference to the everyday lives of Australians. We have put our country back to work, with key policies like the Restart program and the comeback of work for the dole, injecting life back into the economy and restoring confidence and opportunity to senior and young Australians alike. In this vein, we have seen a massive equalisation of opportunity with policies such as our trade support loans—a measure that has particularly benefited the young people in the St George area, which I represent, many of whom pursue technical vocations. We have stopped the boats. It is incredible to me that just over a year on from a complete surrender of our borders to people smugglers, a failure that saw the tragic deaths of thousands at sea, those on the other side of this chamber have the nerve to speak of policy failure. What better example of a resounding policy success than to re-establish trust with the people on the matter of securing Australia's borders?

Looking back over these major milestones, we can see clear evidence of public progress right across the portfolios of government. However, the task which underpins all others, the biggest task facing the government yet, is undoubtedly that of budget repair. Ultimately, the difference between the two sides of this chamber is the coalition team's willingness to take on the task of budget repair and to take responsibility for the state of the nation's economy. We were given a mandate by the people of Australia to lift the nation's economy and bring the budget back into the black. The people of Australia asked us to make the tough decisions necessary to create a secure future for all of us and our children. This year the government has delivered on key milestones of the mandate given to us by the Australian people.

Those on the other side will pontificate about unfairness and failure, but what could be more of a failure than refusing to face up to the task at hand? What could be more unfair than to saddle future generations with a mountain of intractable debt? We refuse to shirk the task assigned to us by the Australian people. We refuse to shy away from the tough but fair decisions and are absolutely determined to repair the budget. The truth is that there is only one team in this place with the mettle, the resolution and the plan to acknowledge and tackle the task at hand. The coalition team has reached key milestones of progress in this first year in office and our resolve is absolutely unshakeable as we approach the year ahead.

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