David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The people of Banks elected me because they wanted to see change in the way the government is run. Coming up to one-year anniversary of the very important change I thought it would be useful to reflect on the important changes we have seen. The people in Banks wanted to see the carbon tax go, they wanted us to get the borders under control, they wanted us to address the extraordinary legacy of debt and deficit and economic mismanagement of the previous government and they also wanted us to build the roads that we so desperately need, like WestConnex in my electorate.

We are delivering on all of those commitments. The carbon tax is gone, of course. There has been only one unauthorised boat arrival in the nation this year—leading to important humanitarian and economic benefits. The budget mess is being addressed. It is a big job but we have started that task. And the roads are being delivered. WestConnex in my electorate will save more than 20 minutes for the average person driving to work in peak hour and that is a very big deal.

We have also signed free trade agreements with Japan and Korea and we are working on a very big one with China under the experienced stewardship of the minister for trade. We have also declared war on bureaucratic paralysis. We have made some tough calls. We have finally said, 'Let's build Western Sydney an airport which it so desperately needs.' We have said that companies should be financed through profits not through taxpayer subsidies. We have approved environmental projects worth literally hundreds of billions of dollars, with tens of thousands of jobs. It is a very impressive record of delivering on commitments.

The contrast we see on the other side is really quite striking because over there we see mediocrity in thought and in deed. The opposition is reactive, shallow and increasingly irrelevant, mired in negativity and unable to rise above the discredited thinking of the 1970s. The opposition cannot get behind the reform legacy of their own governments in the 1980s and 1990s through the Hawke and Keating years, or even the ideas of their more thoughtful members like the well-known intellectual and pamphleteer the member for Fraser. Their solution to every single problem can be summarised in three words—'spend more money'. That is a very simple solution but it is manifestly a failure.

They point to OECD debt levels like they are a good thing, as if we want to join the moribund economies, many of which are in the OECD and are so burdened by huge debt levels and massive unemployment. They purport to care about debt and deficit but there is a big logical problem with that—they have not delivered a surplus budget since 1989, which is a very long time ago.

They cling to that GFC like some sort of economic life raft to explain away all problems. The GFC does not make up for the economic vandalism of the NBN or for sending cheques to dead people. I have noticed they are increasingly speaking to themselves, trying to outdo one another with stinging social media critiques of government policy. You see them at question time with heads down and thumbs flying, tweeting to the converted.

We deliver government with a purpose; they delivered government by press release. We deliver outcomes; they delivered more announcements than the births, deaths and marriages page. We care about small business; they care about small unions. We are focused on the long-term future of the nation, like all good governments should; they are focused on this afternoon's edition of PM agenda. With infrastructure, we care about the practical projects, things like building WestConnex in Banks; they are focused on confused rationalisations for failed infrastructure policies.

The government is an enormous organisation. Its revenue is 13 times that of Telstra, to put it into perspective. We have immense responsibilities. It is a serious business and this government is delivering serious outcomes.

Debate interrupted.

House adjourned at 20:00

Mr Pyne to present a Bill for an Act to amend the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Act 2012, and for related purposes. (Fair Entitlements Guarantee Amendment Bill 2014)

Mr Truss to present a Bill for an Act to amend the Infrastructure Australia Act 2008, and for related purposes. (Infrastructure Australia Amendment (Cost Benefit Analysis and Other Measures) Bill 2014)

Mr Morrison to present a Bill for an Act to amend the Customs Act 1901, and for related purposes. (Customs Amendment (Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation) Bill 2014)

Mr McCormack to move:

That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, it is expedient to carry out the following proposed work which was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works and on which the committee has duly reported to Parliament: Development and construction of housing for Defence at RAAF Base Darwin, Northern Territory.

Mr McCormack to move:

That, in accordance with the provisions of the Public Works Committee Act 1969, it is expedient to carry out the following proposed work which was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works and on which the committee has duly reported to Parliament: Fit-out of new leased premises for the Department of Social Services, Australian Capital Territory.

Mr Ferguson to move:

That this House notes that:

(1)   October has been designated Shoctober by the Cardiac Arrest Survival Foundation;

(2)   Australian estimates of those dying from sudden cardiac arrest range from 23,000 to 33,000;

(3)   prompt defibrillation increases the probability of survival from cardiac arrest;

(4)   delayed use of defibrillators increases the probability that the victim will die;

(5)   defibrillator deployment guidelines have been developed by the Automated External Defibrillator Deployment Registry after significant consultation;

(6)   the commendable staff training and defibrillator placement by Sydney Trains;

(7)   wider availability of defibrillators is desirable; and

(8)   there have been calls that all Commonwealth funded constructions valued over $3 million should have defibrillators and conform to the new Defibrillation Guidelines 1410 (v 1.3).

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Hon. BC Scott ) took the chair at 09:30