Annette Hurley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is going to help position Australia as a strong financial services provider in our region. If those in the opposition do not understand why that is important to our country and our economy and how it affects everyone in our society, then they have learned very little so far.

The government strategy combines relief for families with long-term investment in growth, which is the best way to respond to the global challenges that we are faced with. We will not make the same mistake as the Liberals made in government, which was to celebrate prosperity but never do anything to sustain it into the future. They frittered it away on the kind of pork-barrelling that the Auditor-General’s office uncovered. We have very little infrastructure investment to show for it and we have a lot of these pressures on working families that those opposite now claim to be worried about.

The focus on responsible economic policies was demonstrated in the government’s first budget. It struck the right balance. We have made room in the budget to deliver tax cuts and the much needed support to low- and middle-income households, who we know were doing it tough. This approach has been strongly endorsed by the IMF, which stated:

The reduction in public spending growth in the latest budget illustrates the government’s commitment to help reduce inflation.

The IMF went on to say:

Saving some of the revenue from the commodity price boom in three new funds will take pressure off monetary policy in the near term and enable increased infrastructure investment over the medium term.

If only the shadow Treasurer would heed the advice from the IMF. If only the opposition would heed the advice from the IMF. Instead, what are they doing? They are opposing some of the government’s key budget measures that will enable that surplus to buffer us against the global economic situation and enable us to yet deliver some relief, some buffer, to working families. The opposition is being completely irresponsible in blocking some of the measures that would enable us to develop that surplus. And for what? So that luxury cars will be cheaper? So that alcopops will be cheaper? Is this the kind of measure that they see will help those people who are having to pay more for their Meals on Wheels meal? The logic of it completely escapes me and I am sure that no-one in the opposition would be able to carry through any of that logic. The Liberal Party demonstrate by this that they will always choose cheap short-term politics over responsible economic management.

The government has taken a responsible approach to addressing domestic inflationary pressures and the challenges of global uncertainty. Yet it is faced with an opposition trying to blow a $6.2 billion hole in the budget surplus—a surplus that the Australian economy needs. It is nothing more than a political stunt by the opposition, nothing more than the use of their numbers in the Senate while they still have them. The opposition should get out of the way and pass the budget that will help fight inflation and in turn ease the cost of living pressures felt by working families. It is all very well to come into the Senate and move motions that express support; the concrete thing that the opposition can do is move support for responsible budget measures that will ensure that working families and pensioners are better off and that they do not have to face higher prices, inflation and interest rate pressures. This is what the opposition can do to ensure that the many Australian families that are starting to feel the cost of living pressures will be relieved of those pressures.

Families are struggling to make ends meet after 11½ years of reckless spending by the former government. That is why the Rudd Labor government is working hard to address these challenges and ease the pressures on working families. Our predecessors lacked the foresight to invest in our economy’s future and deal with those inflationary pressures before they gathered pace. And that was all for short-term political advantage. This led to the highest inflation in 16 years and eight rate rises in the last three years.

We on this side acknowledge the challenges. Unlike those opposite, we have a plan to deal with them. We are focused on long-term plans for the economy and we will not be deterred by the short-term politics practised by those opposite. The government is taking practical actions to help by modernising our economy so it is strong enough and flexible enough to meet future challenges. The major challenge for the opposition is to have the courage to support a reasonable and responsible budget so that the many Australians who are experiencing difficulties due to increased cost of living pressures will have some hope for the future with a government that is prepared to take the hard decisions to address those economic challenges in our own country and use our strong economic situation to buffer ourselves against the economic challenges abroad.