House debates
Monday, 21 May 2007
Questions without Notice
Economy
2:23 pm
Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
My question is addressed to the Treasurer. Would the Treasurer outline to the House how economically conservative policies have impacted on the Australian economy? Have there been any notable opponents to these policies?
Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I thank the honourable member for Gilmore for her question. One of the hallmarks of this government has been to so manage the Australian economy as to keep it growing with low inflation and to give young people the opportunity of a job. Two million Australians who were not in work before this government was elected now have work. That has involved balancing the budget, repaying debt, reforming the waterfront, encouraging people to move off welfare and into work, tax reform, privatisation, tax cuts and industrial relations reform. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Those policies are now delivering results: more jobs, increased wealth in our community, balanced budgets, better investment in health and aged care and better investment in education. Most people would say that those economically conservative policies have served Australia well through the challenges of the Asian financial crisis, SARS, September 11, war and terrorism and the one-in-100-year drought.
You do not become an economic conservative just by retaining an advertising agency to say that you have become an economic conservative. The opposition are very interested in TV advertising and no doubt they would have seen the oh-so-serious Leader of the Opposition on television recently, declaring himself to be an economic conservative. With his oh-so-serious face, sitting in front of a high-rise tower, he was telling people how economically conservative he actually is. But it is not a question of an advertising agent declaring you to be an economic conservative. In this business, the way you prove you are an economic conservative is with deeds not words. Every time the crunch has come in this House, the Leader of the Opposition has gone missing on reforms. Would an economic conservative have opposed those measures that balance the budget? Would an economic conservative have opposed paying off government debt?
Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Would an economic conservative have voted against the biggest tax reform in Australian history?
Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Would an economic conservative want union control of the waterfront?
Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Would an economic conservative oppose industrial relations reform?
Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Would an economic conservative want nationalisation of telecommunications?
Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Would an economic conservative have opposed tariff reform?
David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The Treasurer will resume his seat.
Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Industrial Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Speaker, I would ask a question directly of you and raise a point of order. Is it the case that the Treasurer’s actions in screaming at us when he actually—
David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The member for Gorton will resume his seat. That is not a point of order. The member for Gorton would be well aware that, if he wishes to ask a question of the Speaker, he should do so after question time.
Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Speaker, let me ask this question: would an economic conservative want to raid the Future Fund to steal from future generations of Australians?
Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Would an economic conservative want to do that? No, of course an economic conservative would not want to do that. Would an economic conservative, if he really supported all of the hard economic work that has got us to where we are now, describe it as a ‘brutopia’? I see that the member for Lilley is now describing himself as ‘Scrooge McDuck’. I told you they got their inspiration from Donald Duck cartoons, did I not? ‘Brutopia’ is a description that the Leader of the Opposition found in a Donald Duck comic and ever since then he has tried to portray that it came from Michael Oakeshott and he just cannot find the reference. Let me tell you: economic conservatives do hard work. Economic conservatives are prepared to make the tough decisions. Economic conservatives are those people who are there in the hard times, setting the economy up for the future. You do not retain an advertising agency, go and have a look at a focus group and say you are entitled to all of the outcomes of all of the hard work and all of the effort. The people of Australia know that economic management comes from hard work and hard effort. It is hard work and hard effort that this Leader of the Opposition has not done, and he does not deserve to call himself an economic conservative.