Nickolas Varvaris (Barton, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister outline to the House actions the government has taken in 2014 to strengthen the economy and deliver real benefits for families and small businesses in my electorate?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do thank the member for Barton for his question. This has been a year of delivery for the Australian people.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It has! The carbon tax has gone; the mining tax has gone; the boats are stopping; the roads are being built; and the budget is being repaired. We are repairing the budget, and members opposite are sabotaging it. That is the simple truth.

Ms Macklin interjecting—

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

The member for Jagajaga.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This has been a year of achievement and it is already benefiting families and small businesses, because when the carbon tax went that delivered a $550-a-year benefit to every Australian household, which members opposite want to put back. They want to put the $550-a-year carbon tax back on the households of Australia. We delivered the biggest cut in power prices in history and members opposite want to put those power prices right back up again. That is what they want to do—

Ms Macklin interjecting—

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

The member for Jagajaga is warned.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

By stopping the boats, what this government has done is to have stopped the deaths. That is what we have done: by stopping the boats, we have stopped the deaths at sea, which were the inevitable—

Mr Shorten interjecting—

I am talking about the deaths at sea. I would have thought that the interjector across the table would be very conscious of the importance of stopping the boats and stopping the deaths. The mining tax has gone and so investment can continue and jobs can be created. A $50-billion infrastructure program is underway, including major projects in every state and, yes, through asset recycling there is money available for public transport projects—should state governments wish to pursue them. Trade means jobs and so we have turbocharged our trade agenda. We have concluded the free trade agreements, which members opposite procrastinated about for six years, and these mean more exports, more jobs and lower prices. Major projects worth over $1 trillion have been given environmental approval by this government.

We know that fixing the budget is hard. We did not create the budget mess but we are prepared to take on responsibility for fixing it. I just wish members opposite would take on the responsibility for having created it in the first place. We are repairing the budget; Labor is sabotaging it. What we are doing is what we were elected to do, which is to build a strong and prosperous economy for a safe and secure Australia.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett has said: 'There's more than barnacles they are going to have to clean up before Christmas. Their domestic policies are a shambles.' Does the buck stop with the Prime Minister when it comes to his domestic policy shambles?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The carbon tax has gone; the mining tax has gone; free trade agreements have been delivered; red-tape reductions—

Ms Owens interjecting—

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

The member for Parramatta will desist.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Annual red-tape reductions have been delivered. One trillion dollars of environmental approvals have been granted; $550 worth of benefits to every Australian household. This is a government which is delivering for the people of Australia and, above all else, we are not shirking the task of budget repair, but while we are repairing the budget, members opposite are sabotaging it. There are $28 billion worth of budget savings which Labor is opposing, including about $15 billion worth of savings, which it supported in government. This is an opposition which was incompetent in government and it is a wrecker in opposition—

Opposition members interjecting—

This is a government which has absolutely demonstrated that what we do for the people of Australia is deliver.

Mal Brough (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline the importance of putting in place policies that will lay the foundation for Australia's future prosperity?

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

I thank the honourable member for Fisher for his question. As a former assistant Treasurer, he knows how important it is to make the difficult but lasting decisions that help to fix up a mess left by Labor. Our economic action strategy is laying down the foundations for stronger economic growth right across Australia. As a result of our initiatives to strengthen the Australian economy, over this 12-month period, job creation in Australia has been running at twice the speed that it was under this Leader of the Opposition just last year. Twice as many jobs have been created every month in Australia under the coalition than under Labor last year.

Secondly, for the first time ever, we have seen record falls in electricity prices. How important that is for Australian manufacturers, for those who rely on logistics, for Australian businesses and, most of all, for Australian households. Thirdly, we have now seen consumer confidence rise to levels that are the highest average since 1990—contrary to the bunkum pushed around by the Leader of the Opposition, who rarely gets his facts right. Consumer confidence is now at long-term average levels. According to Dun and Bradstreet, business-sales expectations have increased to 14-year highs. I say again: business-sales expectations are at 14-year highs. And who is the greatest advocate for that? Stephen Koukoulas, the chosen economic adviser to the Labor Party. But, of course, there is more to be done.

Mr Bowen interjecting—

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

The member for McMahon will desist.

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

As Chris Richardson from Deloitte Access Economics said, the government are the only team in politics that has a plan to strengthen the Australian economy and strengthen the budget, we are the only ones with a plan to deal with the mess that was left behind by Labor and we have a steely determination to do it. That is because under Labor's plan every single Australian in a decade's time would have $25,000 of government debt against their name. Every child born in 10 year's time under Labor would be born with an immediate debt to the government of $25,000.

Ms Owens interjecting—

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

The member for Parramatta will desist.

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

The complete indifference of the Labor Party to that is appalling and it just goes to show that the only people you can trust with the economy are the coalition.