Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

What we see in this cynical matter of public importance from the Leader of the Opposition is a weird juxtaposition of what Labor says and what Labor does. It is about household budgets, he says, but how do you help Australian families by raiding their superannuation and by treating it as a piggy bank? You heard the sheer hypocrisy of the member for Sydney talking about putting a few dollars aside for your superannuation. How do you help people by using their superannuation as a piggy bank? How do you help them by bringing back the carbon tax? I just wonder where the logic of the Labor Party's position on that is.

The member for Jagajaga takes a mask and gun approach to public policy. She talks about helping Australian families; how did Labor do that by cutting $15 billion from family tax benefit when the Leader of the Opposition was the minister for employment? How did they do that by booting 60,000 single parents off parenting payment? The Leader of the Opposition quotes NATSEM modelling. He is very fond of NATSEM modelling, but he omits to say how much value he places on the value of a job, on the dignity of work and on moving people from welfare to work—all important things if you really are serious about addressing the pressures on Australian families.

The matter of public importance submitted by the Leader of the Opposition is cynical because it ignores a fundamental reality when it comes to household budgets for everyday Australians. We often talk about centres of gravity; well, there is an important centre of gravity that ensures that Australian families can address pressures in their household budgets. It is astonishing and disturbing to me to see members opposite engaged in this latest frenzy of complaint without acknowledging that essential centre of gravity. It is very simple: it is a job—it is about getting the unemployment rate down. In my home state of Tasmania, when those opposite left government it had an '8' in front of it. Now, it has a '7' in front of it. It is still too high—there is no doubt about that—but it is moving in the right direction.

Yesterday the Treasurer acknowledged an email from Rod Patterson of Autobarn in Launceston, who said that the policies of this government and the policies of the Hodgman government in Tasmania had collectively incentivised him to put on another employee. It just so happens that this employee is a 52-year-old man who is thrilled to bits to have a job with Autobarn in Launceston. Rod Patterson attributes that to the policies of this government.

I am astonished that the essential truth escapes the opposition leader: to get more local jobs in communities like mine requires a strong economy. It means getting government spending under control, it means eliminating waste, it means getting the best possible return on every taxpayer dollar, it means incentivising innovation and investment—all the things that we did not see during 16 years of Labor and Labor-Greens government in Hobart, and six years of Labor and Labor-Greens government here in Canberra.

With the change of government in both Canberra and Hobart we are seeing some green shoots of recovery. There are strong increases in building approvals. Indeed, in the 12 months to April 2015, which is the latest data available, building approvals in Tasmania are 42.9 per cent higher than in the previous 12 months. Dwelling approvals are flowing into residential construction activity. The number of private dwellings under construction grew by 17.3 per cent since the 2013 election. Residential construction activity is up; the real value of total construction work in Tasmania in the last year is up by 14.5 per cent. Those green shoots of recovery do not come from a tax-and-spend approach and they do not come from the poisonous, dysfunctional culture that we see on the ABC program The Killing Season. Those green shoots of recovery come from the sensible policies of the Abbott and Hodgman governments. They spring from policies that are focused on building a strong and prosperous economy and a safe and secure Australia. They spring from the $203 million for the Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme, the $60 million for new irrigation schemes, and the trifecta of free trade agreements that the trade minister has secured for our country allowing Tasmanian companies to grow and prosper—and they will continue to grow and prosper under the Abbott government and the Hodgman government in Tasmania.

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