Cameron Caldwell (Fadden, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This week children across Australia are celebrating Book Week. This morning my two youngest daughters went along to daycare dressed in a unicorn theme, inspired by one of their favourite books, Thelma the Unicorn. It's crucial to instil a love of reading in our young ones, but this also extends to adults. Reading broadens our knowledge and understanding, offering insights into a variety of fields. I, for example, have recently enjoyed reading the Troy Bramston books on Hawke and Keating, which reminded me of an era when the Labor Party actually cared about the economy, how to manage it and how to show some level of competence in government.

This week I'd like to recommend a book for the Treasurer to read: 'Economics 101'. If the Treasurer had grasped the basics of economics instead of getting his qualification as a doctor of spin then perhaps he would understand that injecting billions of dollars into the economy fuels inflation. Labor's failure to manage our economy has become alarmingly evident. We've warned about the consequences of their cash splashes, and now, in an election year, Labor is trying to fool Australians with more empty promises designed purely to secure votes. With 12 interest rates hikes and some of the most stubborn core inflation in the developed world, Australian families are paying the price for Labor's mismanagement. To go back to the Bob Hawke book, if you're not going to lead, get out of the way and let somebody else do it.