Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for the opportunity to speak in this debate. It's incredible that those opposite would come in here and try to lecture us about running an economy. When we came into government, we inherited a trillion-dollar debt. We've brought down three budgets since we've been in government, and two of those, the last two, have delivered surpluses. You were in government for 11 long, wasted years without delivering a surplus—not once. Why is that? Because it's a fallacy and a myth that the Liberals and Nationals are better at managing the economy.

We also have the opportunity to place on record that, when it comes to the cost of living, they left us with a $1 trillion debt and higher inflation, and they did nothing about it. What we have done is this. In four short days, there will be a tax cut to all Australian taxpayers. We have increased that tax cut on what the former Liberal government had legislated for. We must never forget that it was the low-income earners that were left off. They weren't going to give them any tax cuts whatsoever. Let's talk about what this government has actually delivered. We have delivered higher wages. We have improved industrial relations in this country. We are actually supporting higher paid, secure jobs right across the country. My question that I asked today was about bringing manufacturing back to this country, creating well-paid, highly skilled jobs throughout the country. We have delivered in our budget—and it will come into effect on 1 July—a $300 energy rebate. We are investing in renewable energy in this country that will actually provide cheaper electricity.

What do we have from Mr Dutton, who, when he was the Minister for Health, was voted by the AMA the worst health minister in 35 years? His big solution to the energy costs in this country is to spend $600-plus billion on nuclear reactors for nuclear energy, which all the experts say will not deliver cheap electricity prices to the household and will not reduce the cost of energy. They want to burden the Australian taxpayer with over $600 billion to do that, and yet they lecture us about managing the economy. It's a joke. Seriously? You don't really think the Australian people are that gullible, do you? They gave you 11 years, and what did they get? Manufacturing offshore and a policy of keeping wages low. That was their government's policy. They were spruiking it and bragging about it. That was their policy—to keep workers' wages low in this country.

On every measure that we have brought in to assist in providing more housing in this country—more social housing and affordable housing—what have the Liberals and Nationals done? Voted it down. What did they do when we introduced the $300 energy rebate? They voted against it. What have they done in terms of creating the $10 billion housing fund? They voted against it. You can't keep coming into this chamber trying to rewrite history with a tale about how you're much better at running the economy, because the proof is in what we inherited. And we inherited a $1 trillion debt, high inflation and interest rates that had already started to go up. They know very well that the RBA set the interest rates and they are independent of the government. What did they do about improving people's superannuation? Nothing. Because they don't believe in it. They wanted you to be able to raid your superannuation to buy a home. How shortsighted, with bad economics, can you be? (Time expired)