Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker has received letters from the honourable member for Wide Bay and the honourable member for Kennedy proposing that definite matters of public importance be submitted to the House for discussion today. As required by standing order 46(d) I have selected the matter which, in my opinion, is the most urgent and important; that is, that proposed by the honourable member for member for Wide Bay, namely:

The failure of the Government to take responsibility for the economy and to take action to help Australians who are worse off under its administration

I therefore call upon those members who approve of that proposed discussion to rise in their places.

More than the number of members required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport and Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for your choice of matters of public importance today. This is a matter of grave importance to Australia. As recently as last November, nine months ago, Australia’s economy was in very good shape. It was strong and vibrant and offered opportunity and prosperity. Our economy was—if I may dare say so—in ruddy good health. I am sorry to report to the House that most Australians now believe that their own personal finances and their country are in ruddy ill health.

We have had a remarkable turnaround in just nine months. Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister, said today in question time that he would never say that working families have never been better off. Well, the Prime Minister cannot say that, because it is not true. Families are not better off; they are much worse off since the election of this government. We have a government that allegedly had a new economic approach, but it has been a triumph of vacant symbolism and short-term stunts—an absolute blizzard of process, reviews and heavily promoted but always empty-headed speeches.

How many more revolutions are we going to have? How many more partnerships? How many more grand plans for the Asia-Pacific or intergalactic visions for the stratosphere? How many more five-point plans or 10-point plans? Today we are down to only a three-point plan or a three-pillar approach. These sorts of empty words, empty symbols, do nothing. They achieve nothing, and the Australian people are driven to despair.

You do not have to take my word for it. The Galaxy poll of Sydney families taken last week showed that 80 per cent of them believe that their personal finances have gone backwards since last November—80 per cent are worse off than they were when Labor was elected. That poll also found that 56 per cent of Sydney families are less confident than they were nine months ago. You heard also in question time today that Australians’ decline in confidence is running at double the rate of the rest of the world. This country is going backwards at double the rate of the rest of the world.

While the Prime Minister tours the world, the people at home are struggling. The working families are not working, and the great Australian economy, which was able to withstand the Asian financial crisis, the US recession, September 11, bird flu and a host of other issues, is in serious decline. Thirty thousand jobs have been lost since the last budget; 630 more today. How many more people, how many more families, have to lose their jobs before this government starts to take some notice?

That serious lack of consumer confidence is fed primarily by the inane talking down of the economy by the Treasurer and the growing realisation that the Treasurer and his colleagues do not have the competence to manage our economy. This downward spiral over just nine months demonstrates monumental incompetence. There is an old saying: ‘Give Labor something in good working order and it will soon be broke.’ The record of the state Labor governments around the nation of wrecking successful economies is now being repeated at the national level. Labor have learned from what they have done at the state level and they are delivering the same results federally, inheriting a strong economy and pushing it into decline. Today there was the Sunrise poll, which found that almost 90 per cent of people believe they are worse off since last November. Of course, the Prime Minister himself admitted as much in question time yesterday. The people of Australia have suffered under this government for nine long, long, long, painful months.

Who is to blame for all this trouble? Who is to blame for all the problems that our country is facing? The Prime Minister chooses always to play the blame game. Today in question time he said, as he has said on so many other occasions and said again in his speech to the Press Club today, that there are two factors: the global economic situation and the economy he inherited. Today, after constant pressure, he did acknowledge that he would take responsibility for everything that happens in the economy, particularly the good news, but then he immediately went on in his answer to once again blame the opposition, blame the other side.

There are some very good statistics around for the government that was going to end the blame game. In the first 550 questions without notice that have been directed to the new government since its election, the government ministers have blamed the opposition, the coalition in government, in 77 per cent of their responses. Seventy-seven per cent of the time, in 550 questions, they have blamed the coalition. They have blamed the former government for what is happening. When it comes to their own dorothy dix questions, the ones asked by their own members, which they have had plenty of time to prepare for, the figure goes up to 81 per cent. So, 81 per cent of the time, the party that were going to end the blame game have blamed the previous government for the problems that they are creating today.

The Prime Minister says he is governing for the long term, so we should overlook all of these short-term job losses. We should overlook this plunging consumer confidence and think only of what might be achieved in the longer term. If that is the case, I wonder why he scheduled his urgent National Press Club address today, which was billed this morning by the media as ‘Rudd to reveal Labor’s grand vision for the future of the nation’. This is what the National Press Club speech was about today: the grand vision for the future of the nation. After nine months of failure, at last we were going to get the grand vision. And again he said in his speech, ‘We’re going to end the blame game.’ But question time today was back on the same theme: ‘It’s all the opposition’s fault. It’s all the previous government’s fault.’

The reality is that he built his speech up but there was nothing there—a three-point plan which was an announcement of the previous coalition government’s policies. There was nothing new, like all of the other grand speeches: plenty of spin, plenty of build-up, but no substance. There was nothing there for the families of Australia who are hopeful that there might be some relief for them from the crushing extra costs that have got out of control under this government. There was nothing for the unemployed or the people who are about to lose their jobs because of the economic downturn under this government. There was nothing there for pensioners, who are looking for an increase. There was nothing there for the single pensioners, whose rate has been demonstrated already to be below international figures. Nothing is to be delivered by this government. That is its grand vision.

It reminds you a little bit of The Hollow Men, the new ABC documentary program on the Prime Minister’s office. I am told it is fictitious, but the first edition had the Prime Minister’s staff developing a six-point plan. I think I have heard of six-point plans before. It was all to deal with combating childhood obesity. One by one, they got rid of all the serious issues, and all that was left were the sound bites and the fluff, simply to skate around the issues. It is fictitious but, my word, it seems to have a ring of truth about it.

The issue of concern to ordinary Australians today is their economic future. They took a risk on the Rudd government only nine months ago. They had doubts about Labor’s economic competence, but they were so sure that our economy was strong and resilient and could withstand any tremors that they actually took the risk with a Labor government—and how quickly they have found that their trust was misplaced. Labor’s reforms and proposals for the future have simply not been delivered. There is nothing there. The Prime Minister knows that his economic management is biting hard. It is biting hard on ordinary Australians—the people who trusted this government just nine months ago. Their trust has not been repaid. Nothing has been delivered to improve their lot.

When you think of what has happened in Australia since the Rudd Labor government came to office nine short months ago, it is almost incomprehensible. Back then we had an economy that was widely acclaimed as the envy of the world. The coalition had repaid Labor’s debt of $96 billion and, against vocal opposition from the Labor Party, we were putting money aside in the bank, we were saving to help Australia meet the challenges of the future—in capital preserved funds, not slush funds for Labor to roll out on the eve of the next federal election. Back then, the sixth successive round of tax cuts was in the pipeline. There was record federal government expenditure on health, on education, on infrastructure, on defence, on the environment, on social welfare, on industry and to the states. Unemployment was low, the stock market was booming and business and consumer confidence were high. That was only nine months ago.

Before the election, Labor said they would put downward pressure on petrol prices, but fuel costs have gone up. What action have consumers got from the government in their delivery of an action plan to solve this problem that they said before the election that they would fix? They have got Fuelwatch, an empty scheme that has delivered nothing where it has been put in place. It is a scheme that the ACCC and four government departments acknowledge will not work outside the capital cities—and many people in the capital cities do not believe it will work there either. It is a scheme that eliminates cheap Tuesdays.

Labor said groceries would be cheaper, but they are more expensive. And what have the public got by way of action from this government? We now have GROCERYchoice—this incredible website with information on it that is up to a month old and is not able to account for local, daily or weekly specials or price changes. GROCERYchoice information does not provide any details of specials, surcharges, quality differences or purchase limits. It does not even tell you where the supermarkets are. In regional areas, the supermarket could be 100 kilometres away. The information is completely useless. It does not differentiate between supermarkets of different sizes—a matter of great concern to the independent grocers, who obviously have businesses of different sizes. It is another useless scheme that has delivered nothing.

Labor said interest rates should go down, but they have gone up. They talk about interest rate rises under the previous government, but there have only been increases under this government. They were going to improve housing affordability, but housing affordability has declined, rents are higher and people are hurting and struggling to keep a roof over their heads. The government boast often about what they are going to do with broadband, but they cancelled the OPEL contract, which would have already been delivering fast-speed broadband to Australians—and who knows whether their own scheme will ever be delivered? The speculation in yesterday’s press that it has now degenerated into a duplication scheme for broadband in the cities and will provide nothing to people who live outside the current broadband range is a matter of grave concern.

Labor’s priority was to fight inflation, but inflation is now at the highest level for 17 years. To fight inflation they were going to spend more money on infrastructure, but they have actually cut infrastructure expenditure by $10 billion on what the previous government had committed. They said they would cut taxes, but the revenue went up in their only budget. They said they were the party for the environment, but their new Caring for our Country program spends $1 billion less than the previous government’s Natural Heritage Trust and National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality. They were going to save the whales, but they have wimped out on their promised legal action.

They said they would be open and transparent, but scrutiny of billions of dollars of government expenditure is covered up by the excuse that they were Labor election promises. They said they would support alternative energy, but they have abolished the solar panel rebate for most applicants, they have axed the rural and remote renewable energy program and they have slashed support for the ethanol industry. They said there would be a computer for every student, but now it is only one computer for every second student, and only then if the schools or the P&C pay for the electricity, the computer programs, the air-conditioning and the replacements. There was going to be a trade training centre in every school, but this has degenerated into just refurbishing some existing classrooms and getting a new sign—and even that is going to take 10 years.

They said they were going to protect the workers, but 134,000 more people will be out of work as a result of this budget and strikes are up sixfold. Incredibly, today the minister did not even know how many Labor were predicting to throw out of work; yet their own budget papers say it will be 134,000. The stock market has plummeted, the budget has predicted rising unemployment and we have the worst levels of consumer confidence since the Keating government said we were in a recession that we had to have. We did not have to have this recession. The Rudd government, which promised so much, which were going to deliver big things to the Australian people, have simply failed—and they can no longer blame others; they must take responsibility for their actions. (Time expired)

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Housing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Nationals for that extraordinary performance. It is really terrific to see the optimism on his face, but the thing that bothers me a little is the state of denial that he is still living in—though it is common, of course. He says that, nine months ago, the economy was in very good shape, that it was in ‘ruddy good health’—along with the Leader of the Opposition, who said interest rates were coming down under them. It was a bit of a shock when they continued to go up, wasn’t it? We had the now shadow Treasurer, the member for Wentworth, saying that interest rate increases were overdramatised and that inflation was a fairytale. It would have been a bit of a shock to the system to those people who were paying extra on their home mortgages, groceries and other expenses. We also had the previous Treasurer, the member for Higgins, saying that there was no housing affordability crisis. This tale of constant denial of the ills of the economy is the story of the previous government. It is the story that the Leader of the Nationals repeats today.

The Leader of the Nationals has also, extraordinarily, criticised the government for reviews and reports. This is the former minister who, during his career, announced or welcomed 70 reviews. That is how many I can find; there may be more than 70. There were reviews relating to electronic funds transfer, Customs passenger processing, cosmetics labelling, fire extinguisher standards, restructuring the pork industry, product safety recall, Centrelink payments, disability services, caged hens, beef export quotas, family farm support and 29 separate reports on the National Heritage Trust. I could not read the whole list or I would run out of time, but it goes on: shark finning, wool levies, the Jack Mackerel Fishery. On the second page are citrus growing, pig meat processing, and so it goes on—over 70 reports. It is hard to know what he actually achieved with any of those reports, but we will leave that for another day.

As the government of course we take responsibility for economic news, good and bad. We do not seek to shift blame or responsibility. We are not in denial; we are about facing the issues that the Australian public are dealing with in their day-to-day lives. We know that many working families are doing it tough. We know that pensioners are doing it tough and need the support of their government. And the focus of the government, in nine months of operation, has been to deliver policies that address those concerns of working families, of pensioners, of carers and of anyone who is doing it tough in the Australian community. There are all sorts of ways that Australians today are better off than they were nine months ago, including the personal tax cuts that they have received and including the other benefits such as the childcare tax rebate increase, the education tax benefits and the benefits that have gone to seniors. We recognise that those benefits are important but we understand that they do not solve all the problems that all people face. This is the difference between the government that we had, a government of denial and minimisation of difficulties and problems, and this government, which is prepared to step up to the plate, take responsibility, make some tough decisions, help the people who need help and lead the country into the future.

We have some very difficult countervailing forces in the economy at the moment. We have record high terms of trade and low unemployment, but growth is slowing. We have inherited the highest inflation rate in 17 years. That is a simple fact. Despite strong fundamentals we are not immune from what is happening in the world economy. We need to take action now to strengthen our economy, and we have sought to do that. We have sought to do that through a budget surplus of $22 billion, because we on this side of the House understand that inflation is the real evil and the real enemy of working families struggling to make ends meet.

The inflation rate was the reason why the Reserve Bank increased interest rates 10 times in a row under the previous government. We have had 12 interest rate rises since May 2002, 10 of them under the Liberal Party in government. We have international factors like the oil shock, the credit crunch and a drop in worldwide consumer confidence. All of those things are true, but we do not seek to blame those factors. We do not seek to minimise what is going on here. We seek to step up to the plate, take responsibility and deliver a budget that protects Australia from these forces. That is why we put $55 billion on the table to assist those who are doing it tough. We have helped pensioners with the utilities allowance, working families with tax cuts and people with children in child care with an increase in the childcare tax rebate. There is a Working Families Support Package that has delivered $7 billion in tax cuts this year alone. It is a direct and very practical benefit for those working families that we are talking about. Take, for example, a single-income family on $40,000 a year. They now have an extra $20 a week in their pockets due to our tax cuts—a very simple, very direct benefit. If they have a child in high school they will be able to claim back $750 a year in education costs on top of that tax cut. If there is a child in a childcare centre they will get 50 per cent of any out-of-pocket expenses back.

Those are of course not the only achievements we have delivered; look at how they affect individual families. It would be worth the Leader of the Nationals having a look at this and learning a little bit about the federal budget. I think he was in the chamber in May, but I wonder, because he seems to have missed some of the key points. Take Denise and Wayne as examples from this Working Families Support Package booklet:

Denise and Wayne are parents working full time to provide for their two children, Shane and Sally. Denise earns $90,000 a year and Wayne $60,000 a year.

With both of them working full time they need child care. One child is in long day care and one is in after-school care. Denise and Wayne pay just over $16,900 in childcare costs but get $8,450 back. Under our system they are getting an extra $2,050 a year more than they would have under the previous government. That is just one example—one family, one cameo.

But beyond these tax rebates and increases, let us look at what we are doing in the wider economy. How about the $20 billion Building Australia Fund to invest in new infrastructure, to move goods across the country and to move people across our cities? Or the education revolution that the Prime Minister talked about again today at the National Press Club, dealing with the skills shortages that we were left by the previous government?

The Leader of the Nationals also mentioned housing affordability. It always strikes me as passing strange that an opposition that had no housing policy and no housing minister should now finally accept that housing affordability is a key challenge for the government. There are $2.2 billion of new initiatives in the area of housing, including $512 million for a Housing Affordability Fund to lower the cost of new homes to market, helping particularly first home buyers struggling to break into the market; and a National Rental Affordability Scheme that will help build 50,000 new affordable rental properties between now and 2012—and, if there is demand, another 50,000 beyond that. We are already in the marketplace calling for expressions of interest for those new rental properties. We will see them built in coming months. We are increasing the supply of land available by releasing surplus Commonwealth land. And there are the first home saver accounts, probably the biggest revolution in personal savings in this country since the introduction of superannuation. First home saver accounts will help young Australian women and men save a much bigger deposit for their first home.

The government have put forward all of these measures in the area of housing affordability, but of course the Leader of the Nationals is very dismissive of these measures. He says that we have not done anything for working families and that we have not done anything in the areas of tax cuts, child care, pensioners and so on. It reminds me of a comedy sketch I saw many years ago that said: ‘What have the Romans done for us lately? Besides roads, what have the Romans done for us lately? Besides water viaducts, what have the Romans done for us lately?’ Our measures on tax, on reducing the cost of child care, on building more affordable housing, on delivering real benefits to pensioners who are struggling—as they were for years under the previous government—are all dismissed because they do not fit in with the Leader of the National Party’s world view, which is that everything was great until November last year. Everything was great and then, on the Sunday morning after the election, we all woke up and suddenly we were governed by socialists and the whole world had fallen apart.

Madam Deputy Speaker, you do not hear people on this side of the chamber saying that Australian families have never been better off. The Leader of the Nationals laughs about that and dismisses it, but I really think that was a key insight into how out of touch the previous government had become. That one line, ‘Working Australian families have never been better off,’ was a key insight. The Rudd government have delivered over $55 billion worth of benefits for Australian working families but are we standing over here claiming that they have never been better off? No. We recognise that there are cost-of-living pressures on them that relate to their mortgages, to petrol, to grocery prices and a whole lot of other things, like education expenses and childcare expenses. Despite the help that we have given them, we know that many of them are doing it tough. I think that this is the key difference between a government that is in touch with the community it represents and a government, like the previous government, that has lost touch with the community it represents.

Every time the government, very responsibly, say, ‘Hang on a minute; there are some things in the economy that are building to become problems. If we don’t take action they are going to become worse problems,’ every time we responsibly draw attention to something that needs to be done, we are accused of talking the economy down. Any criticism that we might make: we are talking the economy down. Any warning that we might pose, any suggestion that we might make: we are talking the economy down. What is this matter of public importance about if it is not about talking the economy down? Again you have got an approach of convenience: believe what you like as long as it fits in with your world view, and then take an argument that is based entirely on convenience.

The government have delivered a responsible, inflation-fighting budget with a surplus of $22 billion written into it. At a time of global uncertainty, this is the very best protection we can offer Australian citizens. It is this very surplus, however, that the opposition want to punch a great big hole in. They want to punch a $6.2 billion hole in this surplus. That is simply not a path that speaks of economic responsibility. At a time of global uncertainty, we need a measured response, we need a buffer against the vicissitudes of the global markets and we need tough decision makers. We do not need the grandstanders that we have got opposite. We need responsible managers. We do not need this budget blocked by the irresponsible, short-term political interests of the opposition.

It is plain that the Liberal Party are no longer interested in responsible economic management. I did hope for a little better from the National Party. I did hope that they might be a little more responsible than the Liberal Party, but I am disappointed to see that the Leader of the Nationals today has hopped right onto that bandwagon. If the Liberal and National parties were interested in sound economic management, they would pass this budget, in full and on time, and stop getting in the way of sound economic strategy.

Again today we have had the coalition desperately trying to convince the House and the Australian people that the decline in Australian consumer confidence is a result of the actions of the Rudd government. They woke up one day in November and everything has been going downhill since then. It might be news to the Leader of the Opposition that consumer confidence across the OECD has fallen and there are a number of global forces seriously affecting our Australian economy. The UK did not grow at all in the three months to June. Japan, Germany, France, Italy and Canada all recorded negative growth in their most recently reported quarters. We know the effects that financial turbulence is having: the oil shock, the increase in food prices around the world and so on. All of us on this side of the House understand that we are facing some very difficult economic times. We are dealing with those difficult economic times by taking the most responsible path when it comes to providing a large budget surplus, spending responsibly and providing real benefits—$55 billion to Australian working families. I would suggest to the opposition that they either get on board or get out of the way.

Margaret May (McPherson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Despite what the Minister for Housing has shared with us this afternoon, I think that for the first time in living memory Australia has a government that is not working in the interests of all Australians. The minister has indicated this afternoon the pressures and the difficulties that working Australians, families and pensioners are facing. She talks about the tough decisions that this government has taken, but I think that all we have seen have been more and more reviews. We have seen no tough decisions, no support for those Australians doing it tough—particularly our senior Australians, who we know are really doing it tough.

The Rudd government, despite what the Minister for Housing has said this afternoon, has talked down the Australian economy. We know that business confidence is at record low levels. Today many of our senior Australians are feeling anxious and they are feeling insecure, and this is a new situation for many of those senior Australians who, under our government—the previous Howard government—felt secure.

It is the Rudd government which has created this sense of insecurity that all our older Australians and, indeed, many of our working Australian families are feeling today. As I travel around Australia—and I do have a particular interest in older Australians—they tell me that this feeling of insecurity is something they have not experienced in a decade or more. Under the previous government, this country enjoyed strong—

Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They are generally anxious.

Margaret May (McPherson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They are generally anxious. They enjoyed strong economic management and they experienced strong economic growth. Under the previous government, older Australians had a feeling of wellbeing in their lives, but something has changed. The Rudd government were elected in November last year and didn’t they promise the world? They promised to keep the lid on petrol prices. They promised to keep grocery prices low. In fact, in the nine months prior to the last election we heard the Prime Minister use that phrase first made famous by US President Harry Truman, ‘The buck stops with me,’ and we heard that 31 times. Since the election he has used the phrase only once. In the nine months prior to the last election the Prime Minister assured us he would stop the blame game, and he assured us of that 146 times. In fact, this afternoon the Minister for Housing confirmed that her government wants to stop the blame game. But since the election the Prime Minister has only assured us 36 times that he will end the blame game. The fact is that the buck has gone down the drain and the blame game continues. We hear that day in and day out in this House—how the 12 years of the previous Howard government are the cause of all the problems facing the Rudd government today.

There is not a day that passes in this place that we do not hear about this blame game and that the difficult economic situation that the Rudd government are facing today is because of the Howard government years. They forget that we left them in the strongest financial position ever—they have a surplus to use to support Australians. The government will soon have been in office for one year. One would have to ask: when will they stop blaming everyone or anyone for the problems they have created and failed to fix? The blame game cannot go on. Those sitting opposite found it quite easy to carp from the sidelines for 11½ years while the previous government rolled up its sleeves and did the hard yards, made the tough decisions. But, now that they find themselves sitting on the government benches, they have discovered that they do not have the ability nor, I believe, the talent to fix the problems they are facing today. Where is the government’s clearly defined strategy to keep our economy strong? I will tell you where it is: they do not have one.

A news poll on 2 July 2008 revealed that the percentage of Australians who believe their standard of living will get worse has more than doubled to 43 per cent and the percentage of Australians who believe their standard of living will improve has dropped to just 13 per cent. This is the lowest confidence level since Labor’s recession that we had to have, and we all remember that recession—the recession we had to have. We recently had the Treasurer saying that the inflation genie was out of the bottle. It is because of the words and actions of the Rudd government that the confidence of Australians to meet the challenges of the future has all but collapsed.

We recently had senior Australians taking their clothes off in the middle of a Melbourne street in an attempt to highlight to the Rudd government that soaring utility prices, soaring petrol prices, soaring grocery prices, soaring rents—and the list goes on and on—are causing them grief and anxiety. Where is the Prime Minister? Where is the Treasurer? Do they even hear the cries for help from senior Australians? What sort of country do we have? What have we become when we have senior Australians turning off their power and risking their health, their wellbeing and even their lives because they cannot even afford the heating bill? What sort of country have we become when senior Australians are unable to pay for a basket of staple foods from the local supermarket?

The Rudd government would like us to believe that senior Australians do not need to worry, that they are in safe hands and that they are in empathetic hands. The Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs in this chamber this afternoon kept saying that they understand the cost-of-living pressures on our seniors and they are reviewing the situation. While our seniors wait for another Rudd government review to be finalised, more and more senior Australians will suffer without any relief at all at the hands of the government. Just today at the National Press Club the Prime Minister talked about creating a fairer Australia. A fairer Australia for whom? It certainly is not fair for our older Australians and in particular for those single age pensioners living on $276 a week with no relief in sight, just another review and another 12-month wait. Will the Rudd government’s fairer Australia reflect his inclusive Australia, which saw senior Australians overlooked at the 2020 summit and on the Social Inclusion Board? The Rudd government has been consistent on one thing—it does exactly the opposite of what it says. Watch out, Australia. If the Prime Minister is telling us we will have a fairer Australia, interpret this as an unfair Australia.

We can apply this same rule to the Rudd government’s so-called inclusion policy. No doubt it will be the exclusion policy when it comes to senior Australians. Pensioners in Australia are struggling to keep their head above water; they are struggling to meet the everyday needs that ensure their health and wellbeing are maintained. They are faced with a government that is not prepared to commit to any relief for them in the short term. All we hear about from this government is review after review, and we are experiencing yet another long wait.

We talk about social inclusion and our senior Australians as being the backbone of our country—they built this wonderful country of ours. Ours is a wealthy country and we should allow our senior Australians to live in dignity and to age with dignity. They need the government’s support to ensure that their wellbeing, safety and health are paramount. They should get a pension and support from this government that will ensure they can maintain a healthy lifestyle as they age.

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We are debating the myth spread by members opposite that the government is not accepting responsibility for the economy or taking any action. One thing we can all be sure of as we face the challenging world economic situation is that most Australians are better off under this government than they would be if members opposite were still in government. They presided over 12 years of inaction; they did nothing to help Australians doing it tough. They had inflation running at a 16-year high. Australians endured 10 interest rate rises in a row, giving the country the second highest rates in the developed world. That string of rises had a devastating impact on the lives of all Australians.

We should refer to members opposite if we talk about responsibility for the economic situation in Australia. In addition to economic management, we are also dealing with the challenges of the global economy. This government is not walking away from those challenges; it is taking responsibility for them. The Prime Minister said today that the government accepts responsibility. The global oil shock has resulted in increasing food prices and other living costs. Several global factors are at work, but we are making progress.

This government has introduced measures to address these issues. We have heard from the Minister for Housing. We are talking about broader issues in the Australian economy. We are also tackling the issue of homelessness. If members opposite were still in government, we would not even have a housing minister. That is indicative of how much things have changed and how much action has been taken. But when people woke up on Sunday, 25 November the world was not a different place and the world economy’s effect on all Australians had not changed.

This government’s first budget delivered a $55 billion package for working families. It put money back into the pockets of Australian families. As part of that package, the government is taking action on an important issue that is very dear to me—that is, child care. I had the misfortune to have my children in child care under the former government. I say ‘misfortune’ because paying childcare fees under the former government was like having a second mortgage. Over 11 years under that government childcare fees almost doubled. What action did members opposite take to help those Australians with children in child care struggling to pay increasing childcare costs and increasing mortgage payments? We know the answer to that; it is the answer to any question about what they did: not much, very little or nothing. After years of community pressure, the former government finally gave in and provided some relief in the form of the 30 per cent rebate. However, they made families wait nearly two years to get that relief and then, in a desperate election bid, they made the rebate annual.

The Rudd Labor government is helping Australians doing it tough paying childcare bills by acting and taking responsibility. This government has increased the childcare tax rebate from 30 per cent to 50 per cent of out-of-pocket childcare expenses. That is having a big impact on families with children in child care. This government is also increasing the annual limit claimable by families from $4,354 per child per year to $7,500 per child per year. These measures will provide the average family with a benefit of $500 to $2,500 extra in their pockets each year. That is significant assistance to those families. The rebate will also be paid quarterly, with the first payment being made to families in October. That is right: action in October by the Rudd Labor government. These are all important measures that will help many Australians.

We heard from the member for McPherson about seniors and pensioners. This government is concerned and it understands that they are doing it tough. More than 90 seniors attended a seniors forum that I conducted in my electorate. They talked to me about their ideas and concerns and I listened. The Minister for Human Services, Senator Joe Ludwig, attended and he also heard their concerns. That is why the government is conducting a review of pensions, carers and disability support mechanisms. That is why it is looking at long-term benefits for those Australians and how it can assist them over the long term. This government is acting, it does care and it is concerned for the welfare of older Australians.

The government has also provided short-term assistance. It has increased the utilities allowance from $107 to $500 a year, and it is now being paid quarterly—that is, when the seniors get their bills. It has also increased the seniors’ concession allowance from $218 a year to $500 a year and the telephone allowance from $88 to $132 a year for those with an internet connection. It has also committed to paying the seniors’ bonus again, and they have already received their bonus this year. Seniors in my electorate of Franklin are pleased with that short-term assistance and that over the long term this government is doing something to help them.

The government’s first budget was a responsible budget and it delivered assistance to working Australians doing it tough. The tax cuts were aimed at low- to middle-income earners, who need them most. What has been irresponsible is the response to the budget from those opposite. Those opposite are refusing to take responsibility for their 12 years of inaction. What are they doing now? They are threatening the budget surplus in the Senate. They are trying to blow a large hole in the budget surplus in the Senate. What will that do? As we heard today in question time and yesterday in question time, that will put at risk our strict budget measures trying to put downward pressure on interest rates.

I wonder if those opposite really want interest rates to come down, because their behaviour certainly does not show that they actually care about what is happening. If they are really concerned about those doing it tough, if they are really concerned about pensioners, then perhaps they should put some detailed policy on the table that will produce some budget savings, that will put downward pressure on interest rates, that will assist working Australians doing it tough. All we hear from those on the other side is criticism, criticism and more criticism. We see no action from them. They do not have any plans for Australia’s future. They do not have any plans to put downward pressure on interest rates. They do not have any plans to put downward pressure on inflation. All they do is try and score cheap political points. People out in the electorates are doing it tough. We recognise that and we are acting on it; we are acting on it every day with our policies. We have acted on it in our budget. We have acted on it in our housing measures. We have acted on it in our childcare measures. We have acted on it in a whole range of other measures in this budget that we have delivered.

I call on the opposition to support the budget in full in the Senate and deliver for those Australians who are doing it tough out there in the electorates at the moment. Those on the other side really cannot come in here and claim to care about Australians who are doing it tough when they behave in such an irresponsible manner and do such irresponsible things with this government’s budget. This government was elected to govern. This government was elected to make tough decisions, and that is what we have done in our first budget. I call on the opposition to support it in full in the Senate.

The other issue that I wanted to talk a little bit about before I finish up is—

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, the Service Economy and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You should finish up now.

Arch Bevis (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Mike Symon (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Member for Moncrieff, give her a go.

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, that is very uncalled for. The member for Moncrieff obviously is not concerned at all about those Australians out there who are doing it tough—

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, the Service Economy and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You still have two minutes to go.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Moncrieff will sit there in silence—

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Moncrieff is not really interested in those issues that are concerning people out there in the electorates—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

and the member for Franklin should not provoke him.

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry, Mr Deputy Speaker. The other issue that I did want to address that I have not got to is with regard to the opposition claiming that this government’s—

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, the Service Economy and Tourism) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Ciobo interjecting

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sorry?

Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Don’t take any notice of him.

Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will finish there.

Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I stand here reflecting on the 11 years of the Howard government and I say I am a proud Liberal, I am a proud Victorian, I am a proud Australian and I am proud of what the Howard government achieved with regard to veterans affairs, aged care, defence and the wellbeing of the Australian community and all the things that were good about this nation over those 11 years. It is about time somebody stood in this place and said, ‘We are proud of the 11 years of the Howard-Costello government.’ I am proud to be a member of the coalition team that is Her Majesty’s opposition and I am also proud of the legacy of the years that were dominated by the good governance of the Howard-Costello government—let us not forget that.

Phyllis Diller said about her husband, ‘Something terrible happened to me last night.’ The question was asked, ‘What was that?’ and she said, ‘Nothing.’ That is exactly what has happened since this government came to office. Something terrible happened in November last year: the Rudd government was elected and nothing has happened since then—nothing has happened on groceries, nothing has happened on petrol, nothing has happened on housing, nothing has happened on rentals and nothing has happened on interest rates. That is what this is all about. When the Rudd government were in opposition, they led the Australian people to believe that they could do something about all these things. The great disappointment, the great uncertainty and the great collapse of confidence are all about the fact that the Rudd opposition led the Australian people to believe that they could actually do something about all these things. The Australian community is soured and disappointed that nothing has happened to this point under the Rudd government.

When the Prime Minister spoke at the National Press Club today, he said, ‘If I offer you some money, will you listen to my Ruddspeak, will you listen to what I have to say about this issue?’—which was another rehash of his education proposals. The Australian community is saying: ‘No way. No chance. No, Mr Rudd, we have gone far enough now. We’ve listened. We’re looking for you to do something, anything, that is going to impact on our lives today not in 10 years time.’ The Prime Minister passed up a golden opportunity today at the National Press Club to outline his government’s strategy for meeting the economic challenge faced by Australia and the Australian people. All he could do was tell us that Australia is not immune to the global impact of the fallout from the United States subprime mortgage meltdown. He pointed out that, while Australia’s growth in gross domestic product is down to less than two per cent at present, countries such as the United States, Canada and Japan are all in negative territory. He could not quite bring himself to admit that this could be the result of the underlying strength of the Australian economy, which was built up, as I said, over 11 years of cohesive governance.

The Prime Minister failed to mention how his government intended to help ordinary Australians who struggle with higher food and petrol prices, increased council and water rates and generally increased costs of living. Gippsland Water customers in my electorate of McMillan learned recently that their water rates are going to increase by 71 per cent over the next four years. How is he going to help young working families in areas like Pakenham as they struggle to meet higher and higher payments, including higher and higher housing costs, higher and higher household costs and higher and higher costs that they know run right across their community? How is he going to help retirees and pensioners in communities such as Wonthaggi and Inverloch, many of them finding their superannuation investments falling in value by the day? They have just had a report on the condition of their superannuation, and it is not good. How is the emissions trading scheme going to address the concerns of thousands of power industry workers—and the union movement should be listening to this today—in the Latrobe Valley who are worried about their future and their children’s future because of the possible impact of this emissions trading scheme proposed by the Labor government?

Once again, these people have to face uncertainty. Tax cuts and increased welfare payments introduced in the May budget have long been swallowed up by a whole range of rising prices and charges. These working families—real working families—pensioners, retirees and those on welfare payments want to hear from the government what it intends to do to help them now. They need to know that their government is not just sitting on its hands and hoping things will get better in time for the next election. (Time expired)

Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is interesting to hear the member for McMillan talk about his pride in the Howard government’s legacy. What we have heard from speakers on the other side, and what has been shown once again today, is their absolute lack of understanding of long-term strategies to build a nation. Let us have a look at the Howard government’s legacy. As of 23 November 2007 there had been 10 interest rate rises in a row, the highest inflation in 16 years, no housing policy and no housing minister—and there was Work Choices. You are worried about jobs, but you did not worry about jobs for 12 years. The only long-term strategy that the Howard government had from the day that John Howard got into government was to strip away workers’ rights. That is his only real legacy. Clearly what we have seen today is more evidence of not only the complete ignorance of the coalition but also their arrogance, reinforcing how out of touch they were and continue to be in opposition on issues facing Australians in relation to things such as homeownership, home rental, public housing and homelessness.

We have heard the claim from one of the speakers opposite this afternoon that seniors were forgotten in the 2020 summit. Well, I will enlighten you. I am very proud that a most respected senior, Everald Compton, was there representing the electorate of Petrie. He attended the 2020 summit not just as a senior himself but as a well-known representative of seniors in Queensland and nationally. I certainly do not disregard his contribution to that summit.

Let us have a look at families and child care. What was the Howard government’s legacy? A childcare tax rebate that parents had to wait two years for. That was a government that lacked the foresight to understand the importance of regular systematic payments instead of single annual payments. This was seen in the previous government’s approach to paying utilities allowance to seniors and not paying it at all to disability pensioners and in the Howard government’s handling of the childcare tax rebate. Compare this to the Rudd government’s commitment and, importantly, the Rudd government’s actions. We had a shadow housing minister before the election. We immediately appointed a housing minister when we came into government. We have a housing policy. Already we have outlined strategies for people to own a home and for getting more houses into the rental market. We are engaged in a genuine dialogue with the community on how to reduce the number of people, including young people, being turned away from emergency shelters, and we are gathering ideas to tackle the significant public housing issue in this country.

The Labor government has also taken the important step of increasing and extending the utilities allowance and the childcare rebate. But we also grasp that to truly assist people struggling with increased costs of living, it is not just about the amount of money that you provide for assistance but about how you provide that assistance. That is why the Rudd government is providing these payments on a quarterly basis. That is when people need the financial support and that is when we will provide it. Of course, the previous government were just about the big carrot—the one-off payments each year to win votes. They seemed to think that bills only come in once a year at the end of the financial year and that it is not an ongoing struggle for families to meet those financial commitments.

During this MPI we have seen the opposition once again showing how out of touch it is with the community. Labor has introduced real policies to address cost-of-living pressures and brought down a budget that funds these policies. If the opposition is really serious about cost-of-living pressures, it should stop trying to raid the budget surplus, stop being economically irresponsible by blowing a hole in the surplus and put the budget legislation through the Senate. Then maybe, just maybe, the community might start taking it seriously—but I very much doubt it.

Arch Bevis (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The time allotted for this discussion has now expired.