Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

It is disappointing, but not entirely surprising, that when the minister is asked about underemployment in our society and in our community she has absolutely no idea. She does not know that in estimates this morning her own department was asked the same question. Her own department—the macrodivision of Treasury—said, 'The underemployment result in the August 2016 quarter is 8.7 per cent.' That is the highest result since the start of the series in 1978. We have the worst underemployment in Australian history on this statistical series, and this minister does not have a clue about it, despite the fact that her own department stood up a couple of hours ago and said this was a fact.

As I said, this is disappointing, but not entirely surprising. This is a minister who is single-handedly responsible for the biggest parliamentary gaffe since Federation. We should not be surprised. We should not be surprised when this minister, who struggles with even basic details like the underemployment rate, cannot do some of the more important things in her job.

The first time this government were elected in 2013, they said their main task was to improve the budget bottom line. When they were re-elected in 2016 they said their main task was to give this $50 billion ram raid on the budget to big multinational corporations. Both of those policy objectives, whether you agree with them or not, are now in tatters. When it comes to improving the bottom line, it has not dawned on those opposite yet, after three years in government, that the deficit and the debt have blown out substantially. It is disappointing, but, again, not entirely surprising that it has not dawned on those opposite.

A couple of Fridays ago the government put out what is called the final budget outcome for the financial year just finished. They put it out on a Friday afternoon. There was no press conference from the Treasurer. There was not a word about it—just a sneaky little press release on a Friday afternoon, so ashamed were they of that outcome. Let me tell the chamber what that outcome was: the final budget outcome for the year just finished was $39.6 billion. That is a blowout eight times bigger than what was inherited. They stand up and they have the gall to talk about debt and deficit. The deficit has blown out substantially on their watch. This was supposed to be their reason for being, yet they have blown out the deficit substantially. They want to talk about debt. In the same final budget outcome net debt is blown out to $296 billion—$77 billion more than they inherited. They stand up and they talk about debt and deficit. I want to know from the minister: what will be the impact if this ineptitude leads to a downgrade in Australia's credit rating? What work has been done by the Treasury to understand the impacts of any downgrade? What would that mean for the people that we collectively represent?

The second policy failure is, of course, the company tax cuts. The minister likes to raise my former employer—someone I am deeply, deeply proud of, having served us through the global financial crisis. You can say it over and over again. I am so proud to have worked for a Treasurer who did such a great job for Australia during the global financial crisis. Let's talk about former employers. I do not know if the minister has yet had the opportunity to check out The Financial Review. She raises former employers in this place on the day when her former employer Peter Costello, the former Treasurer, has torpedoed the centrepiece of their economic plan, which is the $50 billion ram raid on the budget—the $50 billion gift to big corporations in this country. Phil Coorey says in the paper:

His determination came as former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello launched a broadside at the policy … saying the policy lacked funding, balance and coherence.

I quote from Peter Costello:

'Well, company tax, whoopee do. Good luck to you. What else is there?'

The problem for Australia is that there is nothing else whatsoever.

You can say what you like about the finance minister, but he has a lot more credibility in this space than the minister opposite. When he was asked whether the company tax cut was the centrepiece of the government's so-called economic plan, Minister Cormann said: 'Just to remind ourselves, you are quite right, it is our centrepiece, not just of our budget but the centrepiece of our national economic plan, our plan for growth and jobs.' We know now that this plan is in tatters; Peter Costello is bagging it; the Senate looks likely to knock it over. So I want to know: if this was the centrepiece of the government's jobs and growth plan and it is now in tatters—and if the other centrepiece was supposed to be budget repair and that it is tatters with these big budget blowouts—what now with the company tax cuts? Will you enact a humiliating backdown or will you stick to a policy which will hollow out schools and hospitals to give a big tax cut—a $50 billion ramraid—to the biggest multinational companies in this country?

See this speech in context