Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. It follows on from the Treasurer’s claim in his previous answer that the Telstra shares held in the Future Fund are protected from political interference.

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Costello interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Treasurer is not being asked it.

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Costello interjecting

Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is it really? We’ll find out about that, won’t we?

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Costello interjecting

Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If you would just be quiet for a minute we’ll find out about it.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Melbourne will start his question again.

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Costello interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Treasurer! The member for Melbourne will start his question again.

Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer him to the Treasurer’s claim that Telstra shares held in the Future Fund are protected from political interference. Can the Prime Minister confirm that section 8 of part 3 of schedule 1 of his own Future Fund legislation empowers the government to direct the Future Fund regarding its handling of Telstra shares, including to deal with these shares non-commercially, in contrast to the provisions that apply with respect to the balance of the Future Fund? If the government is so concerned to ensure that the Future Fund holding of Telstra shares is protected from political interference, why did you insert this provision in the legislation? If Australia’s future is not about broadband, what is it about?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Overwhelmingly Australia’s future is about giving future generations a fair go. How can anybody who sits opposite claim that they worry about future generations of Australians if they are prepared to load an additional burden onto the backs of future generations? We are an ageing population. We cannot avoid that reality. No amount of quotation of legislation will alter the fact that what Labor intends to do is to conduct a smash-and-grab raid on the Future Fund. Money and assets that have been quarantined to provide for future liabilities are going to be accessed to pay for a current policy. What that in plain, simple Australian English says is you are going to rob future generations to further nourish the current generation. I do not think that is fair.

We hear a lot from the Australian Labor Party about fairness. I think we ought to be fair to our children and grandchildren and give them a capacity to meet the rising obligation of an ageing population. This is a problem all around the world. Fortunately, Australia is not as poorly served in this regard as other countries. But we do have an ageing population and, unless we lay aside savings and unless we lock them up and unless we cross our hearts and promise not to touch them, we are going to burden our children and our grandchildren with increasing obligations.

Labor have fallen at the first hurdle of economic responsibility. They had an opportunity—and we have heard all of this trumpeting from the Leader of the Opposition, and indeed from the member for Melbourne, about how economically responsible they are going to be—but what Labor have done is they have fallen at the first hurdle. They could not resist it. They have reverted to type. They have gone back to their old habits.

We quarantined this money. We set aside a fund built out of the budget surpluses that Labor opposed us accumulating. We have all of these surpluses that went into the Future Fund and the proceeds of the sale of Telstra, and the member for Melbourne has got the nerve to talk about the sale of Telstra! He opposed the sale of Telstra. The Labor Party opposed every step of the way the sale of Telstra, and now they have got the nerve to ask us questions about Telstra. There is a very simple issue of intergenerational equity involved in this. Which side of politics is in favour of giving our children and grandchildren a fair go into the future? It is the Liberal and National parties side. Which side of politics is in favour of spending for today and not caring at all about the future generations of this country?

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Owens interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Ms Owens interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Parramatta is warned!

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is the first instalment of Labor’s pattern of betrayal of the interests of future generations of Australians.