Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

They really need it, don't they? And you know what happened? Those workers in the financial institutions, well, jeez, they haven't done terribly well. They haven't increased their salaries. The executives may have actually got some bonuses. As a matter of fact, they did work some stuff with the Dollarmites, making sure those accounts were working so that people got a payout. A number of banks and financial institutions were signing off fraudulent statements on behalf of applicants at the NAB. Look, you guys opposite have got to start thinking there's more to being in government than trying to pull a job of smoke and mirrors, more than just pulling the wool over the eyes of people.

I'm very fortunate. I work in the most multicultural community in the whole of the country, bar none—very vibrant, very colourful. We have many, many opportunities to celebrate New Year from the start, with everyone else, on the 1st January, through to my last New Year's, celebrated in August or September with another group. Mine is not a rich community. The average income in my community is a tad over $60,000. I know what this budget means for them. I know what taking $14 a fortnight off pensioners means for those people. They're not going to go and work an extra shift. They are not going to work some overtime to make this up. The pension is all they get. Taking the $14 energy supplement off them at a time when the member for Hughes keeps reminding this House about energy prices. At a time when he wants to talk about record energy prices in New South Wales, he's part of a government that is going to take $14 off pensioners who can't go and make up that difference.

We need to be a bit smarter about this. We need to give people the opportunity to go out and invest in themselves and in their future. We did that in the global financial crisis. By the way, you never, ever hear a word about that from those opposite, but we came through that reasonably well, because we stimulated the economy. We did that by looking after families and encouraging them to invest in their futures. That is not what we're seeing coming out of this budget.

The mums and dads in my community are more concerned about what's happening in education. I preface this by saying that mine's not a rich electorate. As a matter of fact, I have the lion's share of refugees coming to this country, and many of the migrants make their home in the Fairfield and Liverpool areas. Interestingly, of the 12,000 refugees that the government decided to take, particularly out of the Middle East—and we supported them—we get 7,000 in Fairfield. Yes, there are all sorts of issues that come with that in terms of making sure those people are appropriately settled, which is fine, because I think we are a very giving community in my area. But what I've seen with the people from the Middle East or, before that, the people from Cambodia or, before that, the people from Vietnam is that they have a passionate belief in education. They believe that the ticket to success in a country like Australia is to ensure that their children have a first-class education, and they just cannot rationalise in their minds what this government is doing in taking $17 billion out of education. I know they all want to get up and say that's all just hyperbole over there. We have even got the Catholic bishops coming out today and reaffirming what this means in respect of Catholic education.

We are privileged to be in this place. We are privileged to have the honour of representing our communities in this parliament. Not many people get this opportunity. When we're here, we should be trying to make a difference for the better in our community, not simply rattle off some lines about how this is the budget and we're going to do all these various things. We should, on both sides of the House, be trying to make a difference for the better. Quite frankly, after five budgets, I just do not think those opposite have that view in mind. Perhaps they think this is their ticket to another election. I've got to say: guys, I think you're mistaken on that as well. But, if you're not in this House with a genuine commitment to make a difference for the better in the community, you should not be here.

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