Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Before I take note of specific questions that were directed to the Minister representing the Minister for Health, Senator Nash, I would like to make a comment about the number of common threads that appeared in questions in this place today. Firstly, there seemed to be a lack of a real policy position or line of questioning. Those opposite failed to recognise in any way, shape or form the financial and economic legacy that was left to this government by them. Also, many of the questions were entirely based on speculation without any substance. Some of them were even based on false media reports.

Having said that, I will now come back to the motion at hand, particularly the answer to the first question asked by Senator Sterle of Senator Nash in relation to co-payments for Medicare services. The first thing I would say is that in Australia everybody wants to have a situation where many of the social services that we take for granted are easily accessible. But the fundamental bottom line is that we do not want to end up with a situation where our health system, education system and community welfare system are not affordable. First and foremost, we need to make sure that we can afford them.

When we got into government on 7 September last year, we inherited a situation where there was not much money left in the barrel. In fact, my understanding from all of the reports is that there was minus money in the barrel because we owed so much and were paying so much money in interest on the debt that had been accrued in the short space of six years. There was a lot of damage done in those six years. We, the government, decided to take a sensible, methodical and considered approach to looking at all issues of the budget over a period of time. As has been mentioned many, many times in this place during question time, we commissioned an audit of all activity. In the process of commissioning that audit of activity, we will look at all aspects to make sure that we can have a long-term, sustainable government for all Australians that all Australians can get the maximum amount of benefit from.

I would also draw the attention of this place to the fact that the reason we are having so much trouble balancing the budget is the many taxes that have been put on Australians. I refer, once again, to the two taxes we have been debating in this place. Since 7 September last year, we have done very little work in this place apart from debate the repeal of the carbon tax, a tax the people of Australia voted in this coalition government to repeal. Now we in this place are wasting hour after hour of Senate time debating the repeal of the mining tax, which, once again, the Australian public voted us in to repeal.

Senator Sterle interjecting—

I would draw the attention of senators from Western Australia to the fact that this is a tax that is hurting their state. We need to be able to get rid of these burdensome taxes that are preventing Australia from moving forward, that are stopping economic activity and economic benefit, and that are a threat to employment across the whole sector.

Those opposite have come in here today to speculate about what might or might not be considered in an audit report, to speculate about what might or might not be in a newspaper and to question the validity of what might or might not be in a newspaper. As we heard from the response today, the information that was contained in a particular news article was factually incorrect. Rather than coming in here to waste our question time, I would really love to hear from those opposite some questions about policy.

In conclusion, in relation to taking note of the answers by Senator Nash, I would suggest that maybe it might be sensible for those opposite to wait until the response from the audit commission has been considered and decisions have been made about which components of that particular audit report are going to be adopted by government and which ones the government is not going to adopt, for whatever reason. Instead of coming in here and speculating about it, let's take a sensible and methodical approach to it and allow the government to consult where it needs to to make sure that these decisions are not made over a weekend, as was the pink batts policy, or on the back of an envelope, as we have heard that the development of the NBN proposal was. Let's make sure that we deliver good, solid, well-researched and well-thought-out policy for all Australians.