House debates
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Questions without Notice
Budget
2:17 pm
Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
My question is again to the Prime Minister. I refer him to my earlier question to him and the member for North Sydney’s question to the Treasurer. In each case, we asked the Prime Minister and the Treasurer to provide the House with the projected economic growth figures, inflation rates, budget surpluses and other financial assumptions through to 2022 that would support the Prime Minister’s dubious claim that all of the massive debt he is running up will be repaid by that date. I refer to the answer that each of them gave, which was that these assumptions were to be found in the budget papers. I would ask the Prime Minister to take the House to the table and the page where those assumptions are laid out.
Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The Leader of the Opposition, in his question, referred to ‘dubious assumptions’. Can I just say that the most dubious assumption being advanced by those opposite is that this country’s deficit and debt strategy is not consistent with a responsible return to budget surplus. The government has provided five years of sets of forecasts and projections for the future; our predecessors provided four. The government’s strategy to return the budget to surplus is outlined in the budget papers. We stand by the strategy.
Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Speaker, on a point of order: the Prime Minister should apologise for misleading the House. He has conceded that his answer—
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. That is not a point of order.
2:19 pm
Sharryn Jackson (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister provide an update on the Australian government’s Nation Building for Recovery rollout?
Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The government’s strategy is Nation Building for Recovery. The government’s strategy is to build the economy up; the opposition’s strategy is to talk the economy down. That is it in a nutshell. Those opposite are happy to talk the economy down, to tear the economy down, because they have concluded that it might actually boost their political prospects. That is what it is all about.
Our strategy is clear. Nation Building for Recovery will support jobs, businesses, apprenticeships and training for today by investing in the nation-building infrastructure we need for tomorrow—nation-building infrastructure which a large slab of those opposite have a particular interest in supporting in their electorates and distancing themselves from here in Canberra. Seventy per cent of the government’s nation-building and economic stimulus plan has been targeted towards infrastructure. That means $60 billion is being invested in infrastructure like rail, roads, ports, broadband, solar energy and the biggest school modernisation program Australia has ever seen.
The budget alone invests $22 billion in further infrastructure stimulus. The consequence for jobs is that we will support more than 200,000 jobs that would otherwise be destroyed by the global economic recession—200,000 jobs which those opposite, we assume, would prefer to have thrown onto the unemployment queue. Many Australians will be witnessing construction rolled out at their schools across the nation, across our towns and communities, as we speak. I would ask the House to reflect on this number: 35,000 jobs will be rolled out across the country under our Nation Building for Recovery program. I would like to take the opportunity to report to the House that construction is already well underway. For the benefit of the parliament, I can table an updated list of projects which have been approved for construction. I can table, for example—and I will—a folder of projects already approved under round 1 of the Australian School Pride Program. We have projects here from the—
Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Those opposite laugh at these projects. I thought they were supporting some of these projects. Are they supporting or opposing them?
Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I am about to table them. You have a look at them. I table a folder of projects already approved under round 1 of the Australian School Pride Program. We have got projects for the refurbishment of play areas, car parks and high school lockers at the Macquarie College in New South Wales and for the building of an outdoor learning centre at Palmwoods State School in Queensland, which is just down the road from where the Treasurer and I grew up. Is Palmwoods in the member for Fisher’s electorate or in the member for Fairfax’s electorate? I presume the member for Fairfax welcomes that investment. I table that particular update. I also table a folder of projects already approved under round 2 of the Australian School Pride Program. If those opposite have an interest in their content, they can sit down and have a read. We have got projects—
Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Robert interjecting
Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The member for Fadden would be objecting to projects in his electorate, I assume. The member for Fadden is in the House, standing on his feet now and saying that he does not want any investment in schools in his electorate.
Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Hockey interjecting
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I warn the member for North Sydney!
Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Robert interjecting
Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Did I hear the member for Fadden say that he wants no investment in the schools in his electorate? I think I did. I take the intervention from the member for Fadden that he wants no investment in his schools. I table this folder detailing projects from High Wycombe Primary School in Western Australia to fencing and walkways at Moulden Park School in the Northern Territory.
Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
On a point of order, Mr Speaker: you have warned members opposite for holding up material. Why is the Prime Minister not being warned for doing exactly the same thing? Surely there should be one standard, the same standard, for all members of this House, including the Prime Minister.
Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Energy and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
It’s taxpayers’ money, mate!
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The member for New England might think that he is being of assistance, but I will ignore the comments. I know the member for North Sydney thinks that he is trying to help me, but sometimes he does not. I just wish to respond to the point of order raised by the member for Warringah. In doing so, I refer to a ruling of the Speaker back on 15 June 2006:
Whilst a member with the call may make a passing reference to a displayed object or article, members without the call may not do so and will be dealt with accordingly.
That is the only thing that I am attempting to apply with regard to those that are displaying signs. The Prime Minister has the call.
Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker—
Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
On a further point of order, Mr Speaker: could I suggest that a passing reference is rather different from what we have been seeing from the Prime Minister. While I accept what you have said, the fact of the matter is that it would be much easier for members on this side of the House if the Prime Minister were held to an appropriate standard.
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The member for Warringah has not dissuaded me from my original ruling.
Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I note the intervention by the member for Canning, in whose electorate we are currently investing through the Building the Education Revolution in 159 projects involving 61 schools with an investment of $65 million. Does he want that investment or not?
Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
He does want that investment. So he voted against it in Canberra—
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The member for Canning will resume his seat.
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
There is no provision for questions to be asked of backbench members—
Daryl Melham (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
You didn’t get that money out of a Liberal government.
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The member for Banks was hardly helpful on that occasion.
Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
What we have witnessed in the parliament today is the Liberal and National parties in absolute disarray—a Liberal Party standing up in the parliament and saying, ‘Yes, we want investment in our local schools,’ and, ‘No, we will not vote for that investment here in Canberra.’ What absolute rancid hypocrisy. I also table a folder of major rail, road and boom gates and black spots projects across Australia. The Leader of the National Party guffaws, as is his custom. I would have thought that any Nat standing up in this parliament and thinking about the importance of boom gate repair across Australia would, if they were worth their salt, stand up for the good folk of the bush and say that we need this extra investment in boom gates and black spots to enhance security. We have got projects from the western Victoria track upgrade to the upgrade of the Northern Expressway in South Australia.
I also table a folder of Australian social and defence housing projects. These are good reading, too. I would draw these to the attention of the member for Herbert, because these are important projects for our men and women in uniform. We have projects from the 28 Defence housing projects approved for Andrews Farm in Adelaide to the refurbishment of 70 social houses in Subiaco—
Jamie BriggsHarry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
If the member for Mayo has a point of order, he can rise, but he cannot interject on me.
Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
I assume that the member for Mayo wants no investment in schools in his electorate.
Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Apparently, the member for Canning does want deficit to support the investment in schools in Canning; the member for Mayo does not; the member for Fadden I think does not; the member for O’Connor does not—or does? What absolute disarray! I also table a folder of Australian community infrastructure projects—
Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. This display is demeaning not only to the office of Prime Minister but to the parliament of Australia.
Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
In fact, hypocrisy is a demeaning condition, I would say to the member for Curtin. We have projects from a half basketball court in Derby in Tasmania to a community workshop facility at Bourke in New South Wales. I table that list of projects as well. On top of that I also table a list of projects, a folder of projects, approved for Australian Primary Schools for the 21st Century. We have projects from a resource centre at Bajool State School in Queensland to the construction of a community gymnasium in Winnaleah District High School in Tasmania. I table this Australian Primary Schools for the 21st Century folder as well. Can I say to those opposite that what we have had in their—
Wilson Tuckey (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order relating to the practice of this House in terms of this sort of display. But has he got the one with the missing budget figures in it? It would be worth the exercise.
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The member for O’Connor will leave the chamber under 94(a) for one hour.
The member for O’Connor then left the chamber.
Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
So, in sum, what we have from this tabling of folders of projects which are currently underway as part of the government’s Nation Building for Recovery program are a large number of investment projects, part of the 35,000 projects being rolled out across the country. Let it be stated here formally, therefore, on the record that the Liberals and Nationals here have voted against 20,000 social housing projects, 11,000 projects in primary schools, 802 defence housing projects—Member for Herbert, hang your head in shame—17 major rail projects, 14 major road projects, 500 black spots projects, 250 boom gate projects—National Party, hang your collective head in shame—and 3,168 community infrastructure projects. The one exception, of course, is if we subtract those projects within the schools area for the member for Canning, because he stood up today and said that he in fact meant to vote with the government when this was actually put through.
What we have here is the most appalling display of Liberal Party hypocrisy, underlined yesterday by the minister for infrastructure standing in this place, showing one Liberal member after another and one National member after another attending supportively the launch of local investment projects in local schools right around the country, and piously, hypocritically claiming that they do not support the investment in these projects whatsoever. Is it any wonder that the people of Australia do not believe what those opposite stand for? We stand for building the Australian economy up; you stand for tearing the Australian economy down.
2:33 pm
Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
My question is to the Treasurer. I refer to the fact that the Rudd government is now the biggest-spending government in modern Australian history, with government spending at around 29 per cent of GDP. I refer to the fact that the Rudd government has now the biggest net debt since World War II, and I refer to the fact the Rudd government is putting it all on the nation’s credit card, the Ruddcard—$315 billion of debt. I ask the Treasurer: where exactly in the budget papers are the justifications for the Prime Minister’s claim that he is going to pay off the nation’s credit card by 2022? I seek leave to table all of these documents in the same way the Prime Minister did.
Leave not granted.
Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
We have just seen the Hockey plan in action—the Leader of the Opposition sitting there, Mr Hockey behind him, trying to sort of nudge out the member for Higgins, who has been lifting his profile over the last couple of weeks. They are all jostling in there at the moment.
Let’s get a couple of things very clear. Statement No. 3 in the budget papers outlines all of the methodology for our projections.
Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
To 2022?
Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
The shadow Treasurer wants me to go and do all of his homework; I will take him for a reading lesson later on. It is all there.
Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Where? Where is it?
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The member for North Sydney has asked his question.
Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
What he did just then was outline the scare campaign the Liberal Party wants to run. It is actually not about the projections. It is not about the forecasts; it is about a Liberal Party scare campaign, because this government has done the responsible thing. We have had a revenue collapse of $210 billion, which they want to pretend has not occurred. The member for Higgins was in the House last night pretending that the mining boom did not give us a revenue surge—telling everybody how brilliant he was and in the next breath pretending that we had not had a revenue collapse from the collapse of the mining boom. Well, of course we have, and the consequence of that is that we have had to borrow responsibly to support jobs.
Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order on relevance. Where in statement 2 does it go to 2022?
Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
Order! The member for North Sydney will resume his seat. The Treasurer is responding to the question.
Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source
We have outlined in unprecedented detail in the budget papers our medium-term fiscal policy, in a way which those opposite have never done. They claimed to be serious about an intergenerational report and then did nothing about it—so the task falls to us. The task falls to the Labor Party, in the teeth of the global recession, to protect our people by responsible borrowing, by investing in modernising our schools and by investing in infrastructure to support jobs and businesses in our community. What those opposite are so embarrassed about is that, if we take the proposition put by the shadow Treasurer here today to its logical conclusion, what they stand for is higher unemployment and more business failures—because all of these projects that are creating jobs and supporting businesses in our community would not be happening right now. To camouflage their lack of alternative they have to run this seedy campaign against the forecasts and the projections which have been put forward in good faith by the Commonwealth Treasury.