Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I place on record my congratulations and thanks to the President of the Senate for the way in which he presided over this chamber, the way in which he conducted himself and the advice that he has made available to all of us. Taking on the points that have been brought up in this taking note of answers debate, it never ceases to amaze me how the people on the other side come into this chamber and lecture us about budgets and responsibility. If you look at the budget we brought down, with a $22 billion surplus, you will see that we are showing the economic credentials to be a good government that is going to balance the budget and have a surplus, while having to deal with the inflation that we inherited from the previous coalition government.

I remind the Senate that the now opposition, which was in government for 12 years—very long years as far as the community was concerned—did nothing in the way of reviewing the taxation system. We have now instigated the Ken Henry review. That is going to be a wide-ranging review, which will impact on the Australian community. Having worked alongside Senator Humphries on the Senate Standing Committee on Community Affairs, I know that he knows only too well the sorts of issues that are going to be addressed by that review. One of those issues concerns Australian pensioners—a very important one. Because of the plight of single pensioners, I am most interested in what will come out of this review in regard to how we can better assist them.

Talking about budgets and taxation, I remind the Senate of the burden left by the Howard coalition government on Australian families and how Australian working families are struggling to make ends meet, whether you are talking about grocery prices, petrol or, more importantly, the family home and interest rates. How many interest rate rises did we have under the Howard government? Was it nine, 10 or 11 consecutive interest rate rises? All of those had a huge impact on Australian working families. But the Rudd Labor government are delivering on all its election promises. I know they do not want to hear that on the other side. When it comes to personal income tax, childcare costs and education costs, we are delivering on all of those for working families. We are taking very, very important steps to ensure that Australian families have the best opportunities ever to own their own homes.

Talking about election commitments and budgets, I remember, as do the Australian community, that the Howard government, when it was election time, had to be asked, ‘Was it a core promise or a non-core promise?’ One thing the Australian people remember, as we do on this side, is that the Howard government failed to deliver on many of its election promises. We on this side of the chamber—the Rudd Labor government—have articulated a five-point plan to address the inflation that we inherited. We have brought down a budget surplus. We have encouraged private savings. We are addressing the skills crisis that we were left. For 12 long years we had to put up with the Howard government, and we are paying the price for that now. The Rudd Labor government are investing in infrastructure. All of these measures are there to address the inflationary pressures that the Australian community are facing, which, as I said, were one of the worst legacies left by the Howard government.

In regard to the ready-to-drink liquor issue in this taking note of answers debate, let us say that this taxation measure is only one measure. We all know that there are serious concerns in relation to binge drinking. But, like I said, this is not something that has just manifested itself within the community; it has been there for a long time. Once again, it has been left to the Labor government to start addressing these real issues that Australian families are facing, particularly when it comes to our young people and their plight in all sorts of circumstances. Something that is of great relevance to us Tasmanians is the investment that this government is making in our health system—unlike the previous government, where there was huge neglect. I reiterate: when it comes to budgets and delivering on our election promises, the Rudd Labor government—(Time expired)

Question agreed to.