Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I too rise to take note of answers given in question time today. If there has ever been a greater example of what divides the Labor Party from the Liberal and National parties it is the budget that was delivered on Tuesday night—a budget delivered on deceit, a budget delivered on cruel cuts and unfair increases to everyone in this country. We need only look at the example delivered in that budget of $80 billion in savage cuts to schools and hospitals. I will give an example of what an LNP government is doing in my home state of Queensland. They are actually selling schools in Queensland. That is the extent they go to. That is how LNP governments treat education. Other examples include the destruction of Medicare with the introduction of a $7 payment when you go to the GP. My office has been bombarded by people ringing and emailing, concerned about the horrendous budget that has been handed down by this government.

Before the election Mr Abbott promised there would be no cuts in these areas. He promised there would be no cuts in health or education. He promised there would be no cuts to the ABC and the SBS. He promised there would be no changes to pensions. We all know that that was a malicious lie. We need only look at today's papers. There is an article in The Courier-Mail with the headline 'Truss accuses seniors of using super on cruisy life'. That demonstrates how out of touch this government is in terms of what they have delivered in this budget. The article states:

Older Australians are relying on the age pension because they are blowing their super on cruises and luxury items, Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss has declared.

It continues:

"Increasingly, the lifestyle and the savings for superannuation are being seen as an opportunity to enjoy a few cruises and the luxuries of life for a few years until it runs out and then people wish to fall back on the age pension," the Nationals leader told the Conservative Breakfast Club in Brisbane.

How out of touch is this person! I will use my father's retirement as an example, Mr Deputy President. He was a police officer, just like you. He retired at 55 and he is still self-funding his retirement. And you know very well, Mr Deputy President, it is not a very generous pension that police officers receive, particularly at his age. My father has never been out of this country on a cruise. Every year, he looks forward to playing golf with other police officers around the country. That is his luxury—going round to capital cities playing golf on a golf course! That is how out of touch this government and this Deputy Prime Minister are with the people out there who are trying to make ends meet. It really surprises me because the Deputy Prime Minister comes from Wide Bay, which has one of the largest populations of seniors of any electorate in the country.

That same article in The Courier-Mail quotes a retirees organisation that has come out attacking the Deputy Prime Minister:

"Retirees generally do not squander their money and it is nonsense to suggest they do," National Seniors Australia chief executive Michael O'Neill said. "People who save and accumulate money for their retirement do not then go out and throw it up against the wall just to get a pension."

Last Sunday I was out working on a stall in the seat of Ferny Grove, which fits into one of my duty seats—Dickson. People were coming up to me extremely concerned about this budget. No doubt, as a result of the feedback, the emails and the phone calls my office has been receiving, this will continue. People will remember the extent of this budget. They will remember the seat; they will remember the promises that were broken; they will remember the impact in areas such as education, health and pensions.

Lo and behold, rather than try and do something to alleviate the pressure on the budget from the gold-plated parental leave, they retain that, they clutch onto that, and make sure that $50,000 is still there and able to be provided to millionaires when they have their children. On top of that, the government is talking down the economy. This is probably one of the most alarming areas. We left the budget and the economy in good hands with a AAA rating. But now you have the government talking down the economy— (Time expired)