Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Leader of the Government in the Senate (Senator Evans) to questions without notice asked by Senator Abetz today, relating to the Labor government.

Isn’t it interesting: here we are down the track and it is the anniversary of having a Labor Party government, and what an absolutely roaring success the Labor Party government have been!

Let’s start with the war on obesity—and we could have a quick look around to see where Senator Carr has gone. Was the war on obesity a win, a draw or a loss? What is happening to the war on obesity? How are they going with the fat people? I was a bit worried that they were going to catch up with me for a while! What is happening with the war on obesity? What about the war on homelessness—the poor old people out in the parks? Was that a win; was that a draw? How did we go with the war on homelessness?

Of course, we also had GroceryWatch. What a roaring success GroceryWatch was! We were going to ‘ease the squeeze’. What a farce! Now we have one of the highest food inflation rates in the Western world. I could go on all day. There was the war on obesity and the war on homelessness. There was the war on executive salaries. That one was a big win. That was a real success. There was the war on inflation and the war on capitalism. Of course, when those bellicose people are finished with wars, they have to start a few revolutions.

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cash interjecting—

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will get to Kevin Rudd in a second. First of all, we had the education revolution. Remember the toolbox for the 21st century? In the end, only half the kids got it at twice the price and 30 per cent missed out. That was like the first and second Punic War. Then we had the Building the Education Revolution—another revolution. How did that revolution go? Even Kevin Rudd, the former Prime Minister, leaked to the press that it was a complete and utter disaster. These jokers are running the country! If you have had wars and you have had revolutions, there is only one thing left: an assassination—and we got one of those, too. We do not know whether it was the real Julia or the pretend Julia, but Mr Mark Arbib definitely had a lot to do with it. We had the assassination when, of course, they knocked off—

Alan Ferguson (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Joyce, it is about time you started referring to people by their proper titles.

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Arbib was definitely behind that one. He admits to it. Paul Howes, the man who writes books about himself—

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The manless face!

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, the manless face! Paul Howes is the only man I know who has written more books than he has read. Of course, the people opposite therefore decided to change their leadership.

We must go to their managerial critique. The ceiling insulation program was a roaring success! All they had to do was get fluffy stuff into the ceilings for the rats and mice to urinate on, and they could not even do that without setting fire to 190 houses and resulting, tragically, in the deaths of four people, which is serious.

There were the $900 cheques. Of course, this was how they were going to reboot the global economy with the purchase of flat screens. That was another absolute stroke of genius. Then they claimed responsibility for saving us from the financial crisis. I thought it was demand from China—I really did. I thought it was the sale of iron ore at record prices, the sale of coal at record prices, the fact that during that period our dollar had depreciated by 30 per cent, the fact that real interest rates during that period had gone down, the fact that the 31 March shipping figures showed we had record export of wheat. But, no, it was not that; it was the $900 cheques, used in poker machines, put in bank accounts, used to buy electronic goods, used to go on holidays to New Zealand. Of course, we rebooted the global economy from South Korea. That is how it was supposed to have worked. That is how the $900 cheques worked.

Then we had the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme—the greatest moral challenge of our time. They were going to cool the planet from a room in Canberra. Of course they could do it! Penny Wong was behind it. She was so driven by this that, when the greatest moral challenge—

Alan Ferguson (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! You must refer to people by their proper titles.

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong was so driven by the greatest moral challenge of our time that, when the challenge got a bit too challenging, she left and became the minister for finance. People like this are running the country. We got all that and we are currently $172.8 billion in gross debt. Our debt last week went up by $2.8 billion. In one week our debt has gone up by more than the government’s projected surplus in—whatever it is—2013. They managed to put more on the credit card in one week than they project the surplus will be in two or three years time. These people are running the country. They are running it into the ground. It is an absolute disaster. The Australian people will wake up to it, because now they want to build a telephone company. It is Pythonesque! (Time expired)

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think that contribution from Senator Joyce just demonstrates the coalition’s contempt for the Senate and its contempt for the Australian people. I do not know whether it is the fact that it is getting close to Christmas, but Senator Joyce came in here and did what can only be described as a Christmas comedy special. I suggest he ought to stick to talking about some serious policy issues, not come in with a silly little rant, trying to make fun of people, with no serious substance to be found in any of the debate. There was confected laughter and confected humour. I am not sure about the point he was trying to make, but he demonstrated to everybody who was listening to or watching that pathetic performance that he should not be taken seriously. Everybody on that side of the chamber—

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Joyce interjecting—

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You will notice that he has not even stopped as he is walking out of the chamber. He is still doing his little comedy special. It demonstrates to everybody in this place and everybody who was listening—and I hope they were watching—why he should not be taken seriously in this place, and he represents the coalition! He is a senior member of their team and he comes in here and makes such a childish and pathetic contribution. There was no serious debate. Mr Deputy President, you might have cut him some slack if he came in here and said, ‘Look, it’s the second last day of sittings. It has been a long and hard year. Everyone is tired. I’m just going to make a five-minute contribution which is a bit of a joke.’ We could have sat back and had a bit of a laugh. But he did not do that; he actually attempted to put himself forward as a serious contributor to the policy debate in this country, and he has simply failed, as he has failed every other time. He has been sacked several times. He is a joke. His own party could not even tolerate him when he was the finance spokesman.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Nonsense.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Oh, I see! So he wasn’t sacked? He was not sacked! I think Senator Joyce actually went on the public record saying how disappointed he was. I think Senator Macdonald has gone on the public record saying some things about that time and how he worked very hard to ensure that you were sacked and replaced, Senator Joyce. But I am not surprised—I think it was a sensible and good decision—because, really, with that clown running around trying to represent—

Alan Ferguson (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Be very careful about what you are saying, Senator Marshall.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, I am very careful. But they are words that were thrown around just yesterday. With Senator Joyce running around—

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Joyce interjecting—

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am trying to tell you something you do not know, Senator Joyce, and that is that you should take a very serious look at yourself and, if you are going to engage in serious policy debate in this place, you ought to treat this place with the respect it deserves and not laugh at the Australia people the way you have been. They are not as stupid as you just made out and as you treated them in that pathetic contribution—and pathetic it was. I am not surprised you are now finally walking out of the chamber. You should have walked out of the chamber before you even started to make that contribution, because it is really—

Alan Ferguson (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Marshall, you will address your remarks through the chair.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes. I was just saying that Senator Joyce should have left the chamber before he even got up to make that contribution, because all he did was demonstrate that the people over on that side are devoid of any real policy position. He demonstrated the poverty of their position in every aspect of that. And I could see that some of them were embarrassed; they had their heads down. Senator Abetz, as normal, tries to do his bit with his confected laughter—

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You have not said one word in defence of your own government.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am responding, Senator Fifield, to the pathetic contribution of Senator Joyce, who made no contribution at all. I am responding to him. Apart from pointing out the poverty of his policy position—something that you obviously share and something that all of you over there share—it is a little bit difficult because there is no serious contribution to any debate. You simply get up there and do the Christmas comedy special, and I guess, in many respects, if you are going to do such a thing, Senator Joyce is a perfect candidate for it. So I am not surprised the tactics team led by Senator Abetz actually chose Senator Joyce to make that comedy contribution.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Look, I’ll take credit for it, but it’s not led by me.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Okay, then. Senator Abetz, thank you for acknowledging that you will take credit for it! I am not sure who leads it. Maybe Senator Joyce is actually on your tactics committee—no, no, that would be too scary to think about.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Conroy’s on ours!

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So we will not do that. We are in fact very proud of our record over the last three years. It speaks for itself, and I hope that senators on the other side who are going to make a contribution take this seriously.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As it is the third anniversary of the election of the Labor government, I think we are all entitled to get a little nostalgic as we look back. Mr Deputy President, I am sure that you would remember the member for Kingsford Smith’s first major contribution to public life. You might be thinking I am talking about the Home Insulation Program—although that was a significant contribution of his!—but I am actually referring to a conversation before the 2007 election that Mr Garrett had with radio journalist Steve Price in an airport lounge. When Mr Garrett was asked how Labor would do all this that it had promised, he replied, ‘When we get in, we’ll just change it all.’ And Mr Garrett was a prophet: Labor did change it all, and they had good reasons for each of their decisions. There were really three reasons for each policy area: basic failure of policy and administrative competence, lack of political will or just good old-fashioned deceit.

Incompetence is actually the biggest category. With the school halls, there was billions wasted; roof insulation, four deaths, 207 fires and 250,000 dodgy jobs; border security, almost 10,000 illegal arrivals and 190 boats; computers in schools, a million promised and less than half delivered; Indigenous housing, hopelessly delayed; trade training centres program, with 2,650 promised, delayed; GP superclinics, 36 promised and four delivered; and the Green Loans scheme a debacle, with $275 million wasted.

Then there is the category of old-fashioned deceit, both the intention to never deliver and the lack of compunction about breaking commitments. There was the commitment to childcare expansion, with 260 centres promised, and staff, but 38 delivered. Then there was Fuelwatch, dumped—Labor knew they could not fix the petrol price; that was a fib. GroceryWatch, with $7 million wasted and 30 staff employed, was abandoned—another policy hoax. They said they would not means-test the baby bonus; they have done it. They said they would not means-test private health insurance rebates; they have tried to do it. Then there is the most laughable one of all, the new era of transparency: Operation Sunlight. Yet, when it comes to a $43 billion program, the NBN Co., is there a cost-benefit analysis? No. What about releasing the business case? No. There is no transparency, no ‘new paradigm’, just politics as usual.

For me the most condemning category for Labor is the absence of political will, or what is better known as good old-fashioned gutlessness. The ETS, the answer to the ‘greatest moral challenge of our time’, was dumped. Labor have a working majority in the other place and, after the middle of next year, with the Greens they will have a majority. Why don’t they bring the ETS back? Bring it on. They cannot blame this side of the chamber anymore. They are without excuse for what they truly believe in.

There is also the matter of fiscal discipline. You will recall the former Prime Minister saying that he was often called a fiscal conservative. In fact, he said:

… it’s a badge I wear with pride.

This government has never delivered a surplus and it never will. With this government, there is no fiscal discipline, there are no tough decisions. Of all the savings the government have identified, half of them result from new taxes—increased revenue. Even when their profligacy is putting upward pressure on interest rates, they still cannot take a tough decision.

On the front page of the Australian today we see Wayne Swan saying that actually there is a path they are following: ‘ALP must steer clear of Greens, says Swan’. I would say to Mr Swan: it’s a bit late, sunshine; you have already had the civil ceremony. We all saw it. I am not being critical of the Greens. They could see a sucker coming and they took full advantage of it.

This government’s support is ebbing away. At the heart of this government is fear. We saw from the minutes of the last caucus meeting with Kevin Rudd as Prime Minister that what is driving the Labor government is fear of losing seats. There is no concern about bad policy or about betraying the Australian people. This government has not lost its way; it never found it. The government stands for nothing and believes in nothing. This government will amount to nothing.

Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to take note of the answers to questions, particularly those relating to the economic performance of the government. One would be challenged, I suppose, in considering the contributions to this debate this afternoon, to understand that, despite the rewriting of history that we have heard today in the chamber, three years of the Labor government has actually delivered some extraordinary reforms and some extraordinary outcomes. Senator Wong, addressing some of those issues today, made the point that, regardless of the challenges that we have in explaining and understanding the implications of surviving the GFC, that is what Australia did. Australia survived the GFC because of the work and the decisions of the Australian government to keep our economy strong and to protect jobs when, around the world, hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs in the global recession. We even understand that we could have been looking at something like 200,000 Australians losing their jobs. That would have had a massive impact on our economy and on our society.

The work that we did in preventing that crisis from happening included the introduction of the bank guarantees and the introduction of the stimulus program, which created 50,000 projects around Australia—500 libraries, 400 halls, 360 classrooms in schools and 10,000 families being supported through the solar hot water rebate system. Think about what else we have done over the three years. We have avoided recession and we have lower debt and a lower deficit than any of the other major advanced economies. We have an unemployment rate that is the envy of the world—5.4 per cent at the moment. That unemployment rate is significantly lower than in most countries; in fact it is lower than all but one of the major advanced economies. We have created more than 375,000 jobs this year, and there are 650 more Australians in work today than when we took office three years ago, despite the impact of the GFC.

What else have we been doing? We recognised the cost-of-living pressures. A question about that was asked of the government today. We have reduced income taxes in the last three years. Significantly, someone on $30,000 a year now pays $750 less tax than in 2007-08, and someone on $50,000 pays $1,750 less tax than in 2007-08. We have lifted the low income tax offset to $1,500. We have provided an education tax refund for parents supporting kids getting back to school. For laptops, school textbooks and uniforms, eligible families can claim almost $400 to help support their children in primary school and almost $800 for each child in secondary school.

We have introduced First Home Saver Accounts and First Home Owner Boosts. We have looked at unfair mortgage exit fees and reinvestment in RMBSs to support competition. We have raised the childcare rebate. We have become the dominant funder in the health system. We have reformed the pension system. Those were significant reforms, increasing the pension by around $115 a fortnight for single pensioners and around $97 a fortnight for pension couples. We committed to returning the budget to surplus in 2012-13 and we are on track to do so.

These are the things that, as a Labor government, we have delivered. We have stayed true to our commitment to the Australian people. We have ensured that we will commit to a fair go and a fair sense of opportunity for all. In doing so, we will ensure that the legacy of our Labor government is a stronger economy, a stronger Australia, a stronger society, a more inclusive community and a sense that those who are really struggling on the edge are going to be supported and be given a leg up. Our social inclusion strategy is a very powerful approach that ensures that everyone in Australia has the chance and the choice to have a job, to learn, to work, to engage and to have their voice heard. That is a very powerful legacy.

Julian McGauran (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This week marks three years in office for Labor. Those in government usually take the opportunities available to them in all the different forums of the Senate to mark the occasion, but we have seen nothing of the sort from Labor. In fact, they seem to be avoiding the occasion. Only the previous speaker, who laboriously read from a script, has made any attempt to mark what Labor have done in the past three years. The government are so deep in the mire of their problems that they really do not want to know about their three years in government. They are not in the mood to celebrate, self-reflect or even offer some gratitude for the time they have had in government. It is a great privilege to be in government; it is the golden era of any parliamentarian, and they ought to treat it like that. Instead, they come in here with long faces. They are unhappy. The government is fracturing. We notice it from this side of the chamber.

I have taken the trouble to do a report card for the Labor government’s three years. Firstly, in their first three years they have had two prime ministers. If you liked Kevin Rudd you will certainly love Julia Gillard.

Alan Ferguson (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Refer to the Prime Minister by her proper title.

Julian McGauran (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Prime Minister Gillard and—

Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for School Education and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Are you really being honest, Julian? Is this your report card?

Julian McGauran (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I get you all the time, don’t I, Senator Collins? You must watch me on television and come in here. And you are good at it. But that is about all you are good at; you are a top interjector. As Doug Cameron subsides, you are starting to rise. You are all good interjectors over there, but you are not good debaters. Nor are you very good defenders of your own government after three years. Let me go through the report card and you can interject during it, Senator Collins. Firstly, in the three years, incredibly—historically!—you have had two prime ministers. That situation was born out of failure and division.

Secondly, according to that respected elder and great historian of the Labor Party, Senator Faulkner, you are a government with no courage. He said you have ‘more cunning than courage’ in leadership. Those were his words. According to the former Labor senator and respected powerbroker Senator Richardson, or Richo, you are a government with no agenda,. Senator Carr has just walked in. When I mention Senator Richardson, he should shudder. Didn’t Richo do him over a few times? Senator Richardson said you are a government with no agenda.

You have had two Prime Ministers, you have no courage, you have no agenda and, to top it off, according to Senator Cameron you have no brains. He said that you are all ‘zombies’. He says you are a government with no brains. The ‘respected’ Senator Cameron—for the sake of argument, I will use that word—said:

They—

meaning all of you on that side—

… are stifled in the caucus, they are stifled in the public … and so people see the Labor Party having no values and no vision on a whole range of issues and I think that must change ...

It seems to be like having a political lobotomy.

That is his report card on you all after three years in government. You are a government with no trust—the Australian people told you that at the last election. You are the first government since Federation to lose its majority—the last one was in 1929. You will go down in the record books for that. The Australian people sent you that message because they did not trust you. You had hyped up all the things you were going to do in your first three years and you did not deliver. You are a government with no competence. In the three years of Labor, you have squandered the surplus and turned it into debt. You spent it on pink batts, Julia Gillard memorial halls and, worst of all, the $35 billion broadband network. You are a government with absolutely no ideas or direction. When you first came into government you set up some 80 reviews, and the new Prime Minister has done no better. She set up climate change committees and she has continued with those reviews. You have no direction. You are a government which, under the old Prime Minister and the new Prime Minister, has just wasted taxpayers’ money. Lastly, you have no control, because the Greens have the control. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.