Michael Forshaw (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We have just heard three senators in the taking note debate—all three of them from Western Australia. One of them got the arguments absolutely correct—that was Senator Ruth Webber. The two other senators from that great state of Western Australia were completely wrong. Looking around the chamber, I am assuming we will have a third coalition senator from Western Australia speaking after me.

As much as I love the state of Western Australia, this was a budget for all Australians—wherever they live, wherever they work, wherever they raise their families. A budget for all Australians is something that we have not seen in this country for 12 years. It is a budget that recognises the financial pressures that working families are under and delivers for them.

It is a budget that is fiscally responsible. I go back to Senator Johnston’s remark when he opened up this debate. He said that one of the important features of a budget has to be fiscal responsibility. Fancy having that said from the opposition who, when they were in government, presided over 12 interest rate rises in a row. This from an opposition that, when they were in government, presided over the biggest explosion of government spending; over the biggest increases in levels of household debt, personal debt and mortgage debt ever in the history of this country. They presided over the highest level of the current account deficit ever in this country, yet they have the hide to talk to us about fiscal responsibility. If they had been fiscally responsible, we would not have the inflation crisis in this country that this government has inherited and has had to address.

The other aspects that were raised by the honourable senators from the opposition were about looking after families. If there is one thing that this budget does, it is to look after Australian families. This has already been referred to by Senator Webber. We have made improvements for families in respect of access to childcare. We have made improvements in education. We have ensured that people on $50,000 to $100,000 are no longer considered to be on high incomes, therefore having to pay the Medicare surcharge. I could go on and on. There is a whole raft of them—page after page of improvements that will assist working families in this country who are being hardest hit by the inflationary crisis and by the other pressures that are coming both domestically and internationally.

The other aspect, of course, is about planning and building for the future. I was trying to think of one regional project—one national project of any significance—that was commenced and built under the previous government, and I could only think of one. It was a regional project—the Alice Springs to Darwin railway line. It was the only one I can think of in the 12 years. We have established, of course, the $20 billion Building Australia Fund.