Melissa Price (Durack, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

When I read today's matter of public importance, I thought I was reading an old MPI from the Labor government. The work this Liberal-led government has done to improve ordinary Australian lives is very clear. So what are we doing? We have heard today that we are working towards getting the federal budget back into surplus to pay off the debt that, as we have heard numerous times, those opposite created and expanded, which, as at February, is costing each and every working Australian an amount of $27,166.

As of the 2016-17 MYEFO, this shows that, despite the new global economic headwinds and the revenue writedowns, the country's budget trajectory continues to improve over the forward estimates because of the work we continue to do to control growth. The savings the federal government has made for Australians have been profound, and, overall, government expenditure over the current forward estimates is now $18.5 billion, lower than anticipated at budget time. Of course, it could be more if those opposite cared about reducing the debt and ensuring that the debt was not a noose around the neck of future generations. In addition to budget repair, we have assisted ordinary Australians and their families enormously, with the creation of 534,400 new jobs since this government was elected in 2013. With significant job creation on the federal government's watch, employment is continuing to grow.

As I have just outlined, the Liberal-led government is backing hardworking Australians with more jobs and less debt, unlike those opposite, who left every man, woman and child in this country paralysed with debt. But as we know, that is the Labor way. Labor strangled Australians through higher taxes and more taxes, as well as creating an incredibly negative economic climate where the jobless queues grew by around 196,000 under their management.

To give a local perspective with respect to Durack, what I do know is that, over the last 3½ years, services and infrastructure have improved. In the southern part of the electorate, the Wheatbelt has undergone enormous development. One example is the New Norcia bypass construction. New Norcia, some 130 kilometres north of Perth, is a popular tourist destination, as it is Australia's only monastic town. The New Norcia bypass project will allow heavy vehicles the opportunity to bypass this historic precinct, which will both help preserve the town's many historic buildings and allow for future development of the town.

Only last year I attended the opening of the revitalised West End precinct in Geraldton, which was developed with the help of this federal government. This precinct is a great chapter in the development of Geraldton's foreshore and the city's future. It will help boost tourism and be another space where local families can spend their time.

I do note that this MPI is all about the big end of town. I think those opposite know a thing or two about the big end of town. One of the most disturbing developments from the Heydon royal commission—and we have heard a bit about this over the last week—was the payments made to AWU Victoria, the member for Maribyrnong and Leader of the Opposition's very own union. This is the man who is styling himself as the alternative leader of this country. The man who leads those opposite thinks that he could possibly one day be the representative of Australia on the world stage. As the man who has orchestrated the taking of secret payments from Cleanevent, he has sold out the workers he claims to represent. That is what I call getting in bed with the big end of town. These are the people from Cleanevent. They are hardworking people who work in the most difficult of conditions. That does not look like he is backing the small man on the street; that just looks like he is in bed with big business.

That is why we are introducing legislation to ban the secret payments between business and unions, and we are requiring disclosure of the illegitimate payments. This is a simple and efficient measure, as recommended by the Heydon royal commission, to make unions more accountable and also more accessible, and I sincerely hope that those opposite will support this. So it is pretty clear, from this week, who is supporting the big end of town. We on this side are backing small business and looking after the workers of Australia.

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