Peter Lindsay (Herbert, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the 10th anniversary of the election of the Howard government and the 10th anniversary of the opposition in opposition, the remarks of the previous speaker, the member for Banks, indicate why the opposition remains in opposition. The government does not have an ideological bent against the unions. Rather, the government is proactive in having an ideological bent to support the families and workers of this country, to make their conditions better and to deliver them higher wages. I will come to that later in this speech.

I was elected in 1996, when the Howard government first took office. It has been a magnificent 10 years. The country has undergone landmark changes for the better. No-one could argue that that is not the case. We in government have done that by working with the community over the last 10 years, and that has enabled us to achieve a lot for Australia. Our country has become stronger, more prosperous and more secure. As a result of the focused, disciplined and experienced hard work of the Howard government, and the often difficult decisions that we have had to take, Australia has prospered.

How have we helped Australia to prosper? We have helped through encouraging and rewarding hard work and giving people the opportunity to have a go. As the Prime Minister and the Treasurer often remark, there are more people in small business than there are trade union members, because people are having a go off their own bat. We have provided focused and disciplined economic management and strong and decisive action on important national issues. Even though some decisions might have been difficult, we have argued our case and won the support of the Australian electorate and taken them with us.

We have made families the cornerstone of our society, we have protected our national security, we have supported freedom of choice and personal responsibility and we have supported small business and individual enterprise. We believe in standing up for the rule of law and individual responsibility, and we believe in acting in the long term, not in the short term.

What has that achieved? Here are some telling statistics—this is a comparison between 1996, when we took over, and the situation now. Net government debt: Labor left us with $96 billion; at the end of this financial year, it will be zero. Average mortgage rates: down from 12.75 per cent to 7.15 per cent. Average small business lending rates: down from 14.25 per cent to 8.75 per cent. Australians in work: up from 8.3 million to 10 million. The unemployment rate: down from 8.2 per cent to 5.1 per cent. The number of long-term unemployed: down from 197,800 to 95,800. Average inflation: down from 5.2 per cent to 2.4 per cent. Standard of living—it is very difficult for the opposition to argue that the government has not made major achievements. Labor left us 13th in rank in the OECD. We are now eighth in rank in the OECD. Real wages growth was 0.3 of one per cent between 1983 and 1996. Since 1996 there has been a 16.8 per cent growth in real wages. Household wealth has doubled; total exports are up from $99 billion to $164 billion; waterfront crane rates, which used to be 16.9, are now 27.7; and days lost in industrial disputes per 1,000 employees were 193 and are now down to 67. I could go on and on. It is very clear that these statistics reflect that the Howard government will probably go down in history as being the most successful government this country has seen. I am proud to be a supporter of the government.

Question agreed to.