Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The two members at the table can laugh; but the smiles will be on the other side of your faces if the reigns are ever handed back to the Labor Party and we go on another spendthrift dream ride: 'We can do what we like because eventually we'll go out of office'—and the Liberal-National coalition will come in again and try to clean up the mess. They say, 'We don't care.' I say to the people of Macmillan and to the people of Australia generally: this is unacceptable at this time because the future of our children, and their children, is now on the line. The further we put off the changes that have to be made to our economy, and the cuts that have to be made, the harder the crunch is going to be. That is the situation we find ourselves in today.

We can no longer, as a country, continue spending billions of dollars more than we are receiving. You cannot do it in a family. Coming out of a small business, as I do, you cannot do it in a business—because if you do, you eventually cannot pay your bills and the bank says, 'You're finished.' That is exactly what happens. You cannot do it on a dairy farm. You cannot do it on a beef property. You cannot do it anywhere within the magnificent contribution that my electorate makes to this country in agriculture. You cannot do it there. You cannot have loans that are crushing the future ability of your family to receive a benefit for the work you are putting in today. Eventually you have to stop and turn around.

That means there will be cuts in this budget and the next budget and the next budget. At the same time, we have to make sure the benefit goes to those who are most vulnerable in our community. The member for Moreton talked about what the Labor Party stands for and what he believes. I think what this parliament should stand for is that first obligation we have to the Australian people: to make sure those most vulnerable are cared for. It happens in a family. If you have one child who is struggling in a family, who gets the most attention from mum and dad? The child that is struggling. The other children are told, 'Get on with it. Fend for yourselves; do the best you can.' The vulnerable child gets the support.

This nation has grown on that egalitarianism. This nation is known for the way it spreads its wealth through the community. But it cannot be laissez-faire. Everybody has to accept that there will be changes. There will be cuts. You have to think about how we are going to afford this and whether it is fair.

Fairness is important in this nation. It goes to the heart of the way we think, it goes to the heart of the way we talk and it goes to the heart of the way we make decisions. If it is seen to be unfair, that is when we respond. If it is unfair in a family, or it is unfair in a business, or it is unfair in the workplace, we will respond as a nation because that is who Australians are. But we cannot stand here and say, 'Let's all go over the debt cliff together.' The time has come for us to change where we are headed in this nation.

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