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

Mr President, my question is to the Minister for Human Services, Senator Kim Carr. Following the deep cuts across the board in Queensland's budget, announced yesterday by the Liberal-National Party government, what impact does the government anticipate on the Commonwealth's services?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Furner for his question. This Labor government is one that faces up to its responsibilities when it comes to helping people. This is in very sharp contrast to the position that has been argued on the other side of this parliament. As recently as 22 August, the member for Menzies announced that the Liberals, if they were to get into government, would devolve responsibility for service delivery to the states. What a hollow gesture that now is revealed to be!

The state Liberal budgets have now revealed that they will want to pass on this advice from the Commonwealth to empty offices. What we are seeing with the Queensland Premier's actions yesterday is that there will be responsibilities that the Commonwealth will largely have to now bear. What we are looking at is that community groups have lost $368 million, local councils have lost $60 million, skills and training have lost $287 million. And that is before we take into account the consequences of the losses in human capability as a result of the job cuts in the public sector in Queensland—that is, the knowledge, the skills and the experience that is being ripped out of the public sector within Queensland. We have 1,400 jobs from the health department, 400 people taken from community services, one-quarter of the workforce gone from housing and public works. And all of this will mean there is greater responsibility that ends up at the Centrelink office door.

This is the true nature of the Liberal government. It is an ideological hatred of the public service. They are adopting a policy advocated by Phillip Blond and his Red Tories of the so-called big society— (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. What reports has the minister received from New South Wales about the impact on service delivery?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, Premier Newman may well have set a new record when it comes to radical social engineering in this country, but he is rivalled by the actions we have seen in New South Wales—the wanton destruction that has been pursued through New South Wales. We have received reports from New South Wales about the effects on homelessness, the effects on the disabled. We are seeing the effects of rent rises in public housing. We are seeing the cuts to foster care and child protection. We have seen that more than $1.2 billion has been cut from more than 100 programs in New South Wales alone. Then of course we have the $1.7 billion cut to education. We know what this means. It means that people in Centrelink offices have to deal with the consequences of the human suffering that has been created as a result of the Tory ideological obsession with the so-called big society—the attempt to run down the ability of governments to help people. (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Has the minister received reports from Victoria about impacts on service delivery?

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am disturbed to have to report to the Senate that whenever the Liberals are in power, and Victoria is no different, we see the same thing. They are about undermining people's capacity to get a fair go in this country. They are about undermining jobs and they are about undermining the future of people's prosperity in this country. What we are seeing is the aping of their Tory masters from London. This is a model we are seeing across the board now. We have seen 4,200 jobs go in the public sector in Victoria, $300 million cut from TAFE colleges, cuts in the Education Maintenance Allowance—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Kim Carr, you might just resume your seat for a couple of minutes. A few people are excited. When there is silence, we will proceed.

Honourable senators interjecting—

If you wish to take up the time of question time shouting across the chamber, that is your choice. Order on both sides!

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that Phillip Blond and his Red Tory philosophies are now deeply embedded into the approaches being taken by conservative governments across this country. In Victoria, we have seen the Education Maintenance Allowance halved, we have seen the School Start Bonus scrapped, we have seen money ripped from working people right across the country as a result of the actions of state governments, and now we see that jobs and skills and opportunities are being ripped away. (Time expired)