Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

That last contribution, from Senator Ayres, was very telling. I think that to run through that 10- or 15-minute summary without a single policy is the most telling component of that 15-minute address.

We won't be taking any lectures from the Labor Party on economic management. The last time Labor was on the Treasury benches it was a disaster. The only way to generate more jobs is to have more private investment. Labor's policy was to increase taxes. They failed to do things like trade deals because the bosses of the unions said that they weren't allowed to do them, and they left office with unemployment at about six per cent. Coming into the pandemic, unemployment was closer to five per cent, so we came into this pandemic in a much stronger position than the country would have if Labor were in office.

Just before the significant economic shock, we—this country—had landed our first balanced budget for almost 10 years and so we were able to come into this pandemic with the cupboard full of bullets and artillery, and those are exactly what have been fired over the course of this last 12 months. The government has been prepared to do whatever has been necessary to keep the economy together.

Recognising that we live in a society, not an economy, we knew it was very important that the wage subsidy maintained the fabric of large and small businesses. Of course, the foundation of a fair society is that economy. That's because it pays the bills. The wage subsidy, at more than $100 billion, is the most expensive economic policy in Australian history and it has been instrumental in ensuring that we can track through this pandemic in the strongest possible manner. Relative to almost every other OECD country, we have performed very, very strongly. Our policy during the coronavirus pandemic was not only to simply deploy a wage subsidy but also to deploy special packages, where they could be justified—in relation to tourism, for example, or in relation to hospitality. We have opened the nation's chequebook and we have managed to get Australia through this pandemic. It's not over until people are vaccinated, but we'd have to say that it's been a very strong performance thus far.

I guess that the real question is: what are we going to walk away with from this pandemic? Yes, there has been a lot of money expended, and for good reason. But what are the reforms or the changes that we can put forward now which are going to guarantee that we can again grow as a country? That will be because, of course, before this recession we had achieved a record-breaking run of economic growth—almost 30 consecutive years. So that is really the question. We can have a debate about who hasn't got policies and who has, but that's going to be the question for the next 12 months as we get deeper into this parliamentary term.

Some of our policies are already on the table. I think they are quite significant and quite structural. We have decided that we will try to improve Australia's labour laws. When we look at the question of whether or not a private business is going to invest money in our country, two of the biggest factors that come up repeatedly are the labour laws of Australia and the tax policies. Those are big determinants of whether or not an organisation—a person with capital or an organisation with capital—is going to invest capital in this country. So we've already decided that we will try to make some improvements to our labour laws. We've already decided that we will try to improve bankruptcy laws and we've already decided that we will try to improve the flow of credit by reforming the lending laws. And we've already flagged in the budget that we would be prepared to try to improve the disastrous superannuation scheme, which has $3 trillion sitting in it which does virtually nothing for the Australian economy. So we have already set these things out on the table at this juncture and I think these are going to be very important changes.

The question is: what is the opposition going to put forward as its policy? The former opposition leader has been saying in the last few weeks that Labor has a tiny policy agenda, and I think that is true. I guess at the last election they had an agenda to try and impose almost $400 billion in new taxes, which the President of the Labor Party, Mr Swan, has described as a record to be proud of and not resile from. Then, of course, you've got Mr Keating, who's very defensive about his dinosaur of a superannuation scheme. He set up one of the worst public policies. After the last election he said:

If you're talking about the Labor Party and why it lost the election, it failed to understand the middle-class economy …

That's what Paul Keating said about you lot.

You're sticking to all of these policies that the unions have written for you. You're sticking to all of these policies that your friends at the super funds have written for you. You are a policy-free zone. All the policies the Labor Party have are written by the vested interests down here, the lobbyists and the rent-seekers and the bloodsuckers. That is the truth. All of your policies are designed to funnel more money to the unions and the super funds. That is your plan for recovery. That goodness you're not in office.

At the end of the day, we came into this a very strong position, relative to the position we would have been in if Labor were in office. Unemployment was lower and the budget was back in balance. We were prepared to be flexible and nimble during this crisis. We were prepared to spend $100 billion on a wage subsidy which is a very significant policy, the most significant economic policy in Australian history, which has ensured that businesses have been able to stay together, people have stayed in jobs and we can now look at the opportunities to pursue reform. We have already put forward significant reforms on labour laws, bankruptcy, credit laws and superannuation because we think that these schemes, these economic policies, should drive a better deal for Australian workers and for the Australian people. We're not here to create schemes for rent-seekers and bloodsuckers. That is our agenda so far.

The question is: what else can we do? I think that is a good debate to have. I look forward to the Labor Party coming up with some economic policies; I think that would be good. Mr Shorten said you've got a tiny agenda. Maybe you, through the Chair, could have one policy which could actually be designed to promote private investment. Imagine that: one policy to drive private investment, recognising that it's not the government that creates jobs; it is actually the private economy that creates jobs. We look forward to the Labor Party coming up with some policies over the next 12 months or so.

The unemployment rate is now at about 6½ per cent and, of course, our plan will be to try to get that down. The best way to get the unemployment rate down is to find ways to promote private investment, so we will pursue policies which cut taxes, cut regulation and ensure that Australia is an attractive place to do business. That will be our agenda.

I have to say that we are coming out of this pandemic better than almost any other jurisdiction on earth. We are in a very, very good position to capitalise upon our strong performance during the pandemic. We should be looking afar, beyond the navel, because at the end of the day, with the geopolitical events in places like Hong Kong—which is basically going to be destroyed as a finance and technology centre—we should be doing all we can to try and attract jobs and investment from jurisdictions like Hong Kong. Frankly, why would you want to live there if you had to live in danger of the national security law? We are in a good position, and I think we can be optimistic about the future. I look forward to Labor coming out with one policy before the next election—just one—which will promote private investment. It's a tiny agenda at the moment; maybe it will grow over the next little while.