Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. This week the government is attempting to scrap Labor's low-income superannuation contribution. This cut will cost a nurse or midwife working two days a week $451 in extra tax each year on their superannuation. Why is the government making it harder for nurses to save for their retirement?

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

From our perspective, our priority for nurses is that they have the opportunity to get a job and keep a job.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There will be silence on my left.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And also that they have the opportunity to earn a good income. Nurses work unbelievably hard. They make enormous sacrifices. They are the ultimate givers in so many ways.

Opposition members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer will resume his seat. There is a general warning in place. There is far too much noise. I cannot hear the answer and nor can anyone else. The people sitting in the gallery are interested, as are those listening, so a general warning is in place. I call the Treasurer.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Nurses work incredibly hard in very difficult environments. It is a great saying that the most sacred thing a human being can give, after their love, is their labour. It is the case that nurses give both on so many occasions in their tending to the sick and dealing with the ill.

From our perspective, a nurse is often a mother or a father, as well. As a parent they do not want to bequeath to their children a lesser quality of life than that which they have had. That is why we are setting about fixing the budget. We will not leave the next generation of Australians with a bigger debt and higher taxes and a lesser quality of life than that which we have.

Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What about climate change, then?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Moreton will leave under standing order 94(a).

The member for Moreton then left the chamber.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is not Joe Hockey saying it, or Tony Abbott, or Warren Truss, or any member of the coalition. It is the Secretary of the Treasurer. It is the Governor of the Reserve Bank. It is economists like John Edwards, who were advisers to Labor prime ministers. It is Angel Gurria, the head of the OECD.

Opposition members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Gorton!

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Everyone who has an ounce of credibility on economics recognises that if we do not address the budget crisis now the pain associated with fixing it in five, 10, 15 or 20 years is going to be far greater for Australians. That is why we are moving now. That is why we are undertaking reform now—because we must.

Opposition members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Gellibrand will desist!

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The days of Labor using a credit card and paying off today's bills at the expense of the future simply leaves our children in a lesser position than that which we had. The coalition and everyday Australians will not cop leaving the next generation of Australians with a lesser quality of life.

Do you know what the irony of it is? The Labor Party believed this before the last election. The Labor Party went out there and said they were going to deliver a surplus. They know in their hearts that you have to fix the budget. They know in their hearts that you have to run surpluses. The problem is that the Labor Party is full of hypocrites. When it comes to honesty, don't look at the Labor Party.