Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security) Share this | Hansard source

No, we do. The second part of the conversation that I want to have with the Australian people today, carrying on from the conversation started by the Leader of the Opposition, is about what this government is focused on. We are focused on the things that matter to the Australian people. Let's take national security to start with. The first job of government is to keep the Australian people safe. We have returned the Defence budget to two per cent of GDP. We are the first government in a decade to fully fund a Defence white paper. We didn't just say, 'Here's a defence white paper. Here's an aspiration. This is what we should be doing.' We fully funded it. We put the money there to back up what we say. That's because this government doesn't just talk, this government acts and this government delivers.

We've seen this when it comes to defence. We have also seen it when it comes to national security laws. We have put national security laws in place, which are helping to keep the community safe. There have been five significant, major pieces of national security reform which have kept this nation safe. We are determined to make sure that the terrorists will not win. National security is our key focus. It's the No. 1 priority of government. We are delivering on it. We are delivering on it not just by talking about it but by putting money in place and putting laws in place that are keeping the Australian people safe.

Let's have a look at the economy. The second most important issue of any government is to make sure that it's providing for its citizens. What is the best way to provide for our citizens? That is to make sure that people have a job. That is what we are doing. Look at the job figures. I haven't heard anything from those opposite on the recent job figures. They're not coming out, saying, 'Isn't it wonderful that jobs are growing and jobs are growing significantly?' Did we hear any applause or any acknowledgment from those opposite when the Treasurer got up and spoke about the latest job figures? Did we hear anything from those opposite? No. It's the fastest growth in full-time jobs since they have started recording the data, and what did we hear from those opposite? Not one word. There was not one acknowledgment of where this economy is going or the jobs growth that is occurring in this economy—not one word. It would be very good if those opposite just came out and said, 'Look, it is good that the economy is growing, it is fantastic that there are new jobs being supported and it is fantastic we are seeing full-time job growth.' It's the fastest on record since they have been recording the data. One would have thought that those opposite would stand up and applaud when the Treasurer spoke, but instead we got nothing—zilch.

The third most important issue that this government is focused on is energy. We are focused on energy. We are making sure that the Australian people will see downward pressure on their energy bills, not upward pressure. We are doing this despite those opposite, who are there encouraging the Premier of South Australia to make sure that there is upward pressure put on energy prices. We are delivering to see downward pressure put on energy prices—absolutely, we are. There's the Snowy Hydro 2.0—look at what that will do. It will be delivered and it will be transformational. The government has secured, through the COAG Energy Council, 49 out of the 50 Finkel recommendations. They were immediately adopted and are immediately being worked on. We are abolishing the limited merits review, which has allowed network businesses to game the system and put billions of dollars of costs onto our consumers. We are putting downward pressure on energy prices, despite the efforts, especially at the state level, by those opposite.

Finally, there are the borders. I touched on what those opposite would like to see when it comes to our borders. Secretly, we know—and it will be very interesting to see what the next speaker has to say about this—that those opposite want GetUp!'s policies to come to fruition.

Ms Butler interjecting—

You do! She just said she does.

A government member interjecting—

The honourable member here heard it, too. She wants GetUp! policies implemented. That says it all. On this side, we are very happy: a thousand days without a boat arrival, no-one lost by drowning at sea and all children out of detention. That is the record on this side, yet we've just heard that those opposite want GetUp! policies implemented. They want to see a return to the porous borders that they presided over. On this side, we don't.

I would like to continue the conversation that the Leader of the Opposition started. I will sum up how that conversation should go. We will keep pointing out on a daily basis that the Leader of the Opposition cannot be trusted. On this side, we will be focusing on the things that matter to people. We will be focusing on keeping Australians safe. We will be focusing on growing our economy, making sure that the record full-time jobs growth that we have been seeing will continue. We are going to make sure that we are putting downward pressure on energy prices, not supporting state governments that want to put upward pressure on them. Lastly, we will continue to have policies in place which make sure that our immigration is controlled by the government, not by people smugglers. (Time expired)

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