John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Shambles is a very good description. The whole thing has turned to tears and like many other things—just look at the government—this whole minerals resource rent tax was not about a fair share for all Australians of the finite resources in the ground. It was about the federal government's budget that was in a state of disarray. Remember when Labor was elected to government the ceiling of the debt was $75 billion. You raised it to $200 billion. Then you raised it to $250 billion. Then last May, in a year in which we were meant to have a budget surplus, you raised it to $300 billion. Why did you need to raise the ceiling debt, the credit card limit for the Australian people, when you are going to have a budget surplus? Because you knew there was not going to be any surplus—and history will prove that correct.

During the Christmas break when we were away from the cameras, Treasurer Swan said, 'It's unlikely it'll look like a surplus now.' Blind Freddy could have told you that there would be no surplus. Get the equation right: the Australian Labor Party in government equals debt—borrowing, debt, waste. It has happened all my life. I can take you back to the states and I am sure my colleague Senator Ronaldson would remember that the Cain-Kirner government in Victoria set that state back by $60 billion of debt, and Premier Kennett was left to clean up the mess. He was asked why he sold the electricity company. He got $19 billion for the sale and every cent went to pay off debt that the Labor Party had built up. Perhaps we should look at Queensland's finances now.