Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Minister for Sport (Senator Lundy) and the Minister for Finance and Deregulation (Senator Wong) to questions without notice asked by Senators Cash and Cormann today relating to asylum seekers and to the budget.

I always enjoy an anniversary and I quite like a party, but five years of hard Labor is no cause for celebration. I could indulge in cheap rhetorical blandishments but I will not.

Senator Boyce interjecting—

We can summarise this debate, Senator Boyce, by simply asking this: is this country of Australia, after five years of hard Labor, better off? So is Australia better off after five years of hard Labor? If you are an average Australian and you have seen your electricity bill go up by 89 per cent, are you better off? If you were deceived by the Prime Minister about the introduction of a carbon tax, are you better off? Are you better off when a carbon tax means that the cost of living rises? Are you better off when a carbon tax means we are less competitive against other major competitive nations such as Brazil, Russia, India, China, the United States and Canada?

Are you better off when a carbon tax means slower economic growth, means less money, in short, to pay for Labor's grand promises? After five years of Labor, are you better off if you have watched $70 billion in federal government assets, which is what the Howard-Costello government left, become $150 billion in debt? In particular, are you better off if you are young and will be paying the bill for Labor's profligacy? When this government dumps in the laps of young people the IOUs for the current generation, will you be better off? No, you will not. If you have children in school and have seen Labor spend about $20 billion on the education revolution, seen that the results in domestic tests are stagnant and that the results in international comparative tests are actually worse, the PISA tests are worse, are young kids better off? No, they are not.

Are you better off because the education revolution is now the education crusade, even though they cannot find the Holy Grail of better test results? Is anyone celebrating now that we have just reached another milestone—that is, 500 boats arriving within five years of a Labor government? That is an average of more than 100 a year and, of course, the rate is increasing. Are we better off? I worked overseas for a while and I heard of Medecins Sans Frontieres, but now we have Australia sans frontieres—a nation without any orders, a country that cannot even defend its borders, lets in 100 boats per year and 30,000 illegal arrivals.

After five years, where are we? First, we have a government that is totally unable to effectively, efficiently and economically implement its policy initiatives—everything from pink batts to school halls, from computers in schools to the carbon tax and the security of our borders. What is the granddaddy of them all, Mr Deputy President?

Alan Eggleston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The carbon tax.

Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The carbon tax is part of it, Senator Eggleston. It is, of course, the National Broadband Network. What a fiasco. Mark my words, it will be the greatest fiasco in Australian federal history. Second, we have a record increase in government debt. This government is currently handing down IOUs to our kids and our grandkids. Never forget: intergenerational inequity is intergenerational theft. And it is on this lot's watch that this theft is occurring.

I am not too good with computers but I looked on Google to see what present you give on a fifth anniversary, and I discovered that it is wood. I think what we have over here is a lot of deadwood. We do not want a celebration; we want a divorce. (Time expired)

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

For a minute there I thought we had some evangelical sermon going on. You have there the high priest, Senator Mason, posing to his crowd behind him all these rhetorical questions, and the decent, nodding people were just nodding and answering the questions as if by script. He even mentioned the Holy Grail. The only thing missing, really, was the hymn at the end, Senator Mason.

Brett Mason (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Universities and Research) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can give you that, Gavin.

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

I would be happy to give you the time, if you were going to sing to us. I am glad that we did get one useful piece of information out of that contribution, which is that, apparently, wood is the gift you give for the fifth anniversary. I will keep that in mind because that will come in useful for me. Senator Mason posed the question to us: is Australia better off after Labor government economic management? Have a listen to this, Senator Mason. This country has now had 21 years of consecutive economic growth, an achievement that leaves every other major advanced economy in our wake. Our economy is in a league of its own. It is an economy that is 11 per cent larger since Labor came to office, despite the worst global conditions since the Great Depression.

We have impressive growth, with our economy growing faster than every single major advanced economy. We have low unemployment at a rate of 5.4 per cent, which is about half the rate seen in Europe and significantly below other advanced economies. You ask those Australians whom we saved from unemployment through the stimulus that we took through the global financial crisis whether Australia is better off, and the answer is a resounding yes. Anyone who bothers to actually look at the facts and not be leading some evangelical sermon from opposition will come to the same conclusion.

We have an exceptional job creation record, with over 800,000 jobs having been created since Labor came to office, despite 27 million jobs lost worldwide. Worldwide, 27 million jobs lost; Australia, 800,000 new jobs created. Inflation is at a 13-year low, with underlying inflation at the bottom end of the RBA's target band of two per cent through to the year ended in June. What is the cash rate? It is sitting now at 3.25 per cent. Interest rates for Australians at 3.25 per cent, at the official cash rate. That is lower than at any time under the coalition.

We have a huge investment pipeline, with a record $260 billion at an advanced stage, helping to boost the productive capacity of our economy. We have healthy consumption, with a growth rate of around four per cent throughout this year. We have very, very low debt. Our net debt as a percentage of GDP is peaking at around a tenth of the level of major advanced economies. This is what John Howard had to say about our economy at the coalition convention in 2000:

The economic reform record of this government—

He is speaking of his government—

is one that has won acclaim not only here, but around the world. The lower rates of inflation, the consistently high growth, the capacity to stare down the Asian economic downturn … is a great record of reform.

Never mind the Asian economic downturn. Compared with when former Prime Minister John Howard gave that speech in 2000, and amidst the most hostile economic achievement in recent memory, this government has a lower unemployment rate than when John Howard bragged about the economy in 2000.

We have a lower cash rate than when John Howard bragged about the economy. We have lower inflation now—1½ per cent lower—than when John Howard bragged about the economy back in 2000. And we have higher annual economic growth, around two to 2½ per cent higher, than when John Howard, the former Prime Minister, bragged about the economy in those positions. So by any measure, if you want to compare the state of the economy now and the state of the economy back when John Howard was the Prime Minister, we tick every single box. If you want to look at our record on creating jobs and saving jobs, you only have to look at this government as the envy of the rest of the world. (Time expired)

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for COAG) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also seek to take note of answers given by Senators Lundy and Wong to questions asked by Senators Cash and Cormann today. I am not sure if I am in a parallel universe, but I have an uncomfortable feeling I just heard Senator Gavin Marshall quoting John Howard. That is a slightly confusing experience for those of us who know the contempt that those opposite, and Senator Marshall in particular, would usually use for that sort of an analogy, but there we are.

The thing that I think was missing from Senator Marshall's speech, and it is enormously disappointing to see him leave the chamber, was a bit of enthusiasm, a bit of oomph, a bit of spirit in apparently celebrating his government's fifth anniversary. After Senator Mason's fantastic oration, everyone over here was put to sleep by Senator Marshall, who could not even bring a smile to his face to celebrate this fifth anniversary. It must be pretty sombre in the government party room at the moment. Those caucus meetings must be pretty dull. The answers we received this afternoon are a great illustration of why, after five years of Labor, Australia is, quite frankly, fed up. There is plenty of spin, there is plenty of obfuscation, but there is not a lot of substance.

It was pretty apparent early on that this federal Labor government in both of its iterations would be much like its state counterparts, which we have dismissed in a number of jurisdictions in Australia, including in New South Wales, my own state. Labor is always big on announcements, but pretty poor on delivery. So after 11½ years of stability and responsible economic management by the Howard government, which I will quote with affirmation and enthusiasm, and a positive approach, the people decided that they might take Kevin Rudd and Labor at their word. It was a big mistake. It was not long before their hopes were dashed that the Australia that Mr Rudd had built up in their minds was ever going to exist.

Mr Rudd made announcement after announcement. He spent money with reckless abandon, and generally acted like a federal Premier, as one journalist whose name escapes me put it at the time. And then in June 2010 came the assassination and Ms Gillard took office and things have only become worse. It is a lamentable record for the past five years. We have seen the Australian people completely misled by the introduction of the world's biggest carbon tax. We have seen this government preside over a massive increase in people's living costs. Senator Mason referred to price rises in electricity costs of 89 per cent. What do you think the real people are doing with that? How do you think the real people feel about the government based on that sort of performance?

The government have actually managed to turn $70 billion in net assets into more than $150 billion in net debt. That is a class act. That takes a real effort, but they have managed it. They have run up the four biggest deficits in Australia's history following on from the Howard government's four biggest surpluses. And as we were remarking on during question time today, the debt of this government is just an inconvenient truth—it did not make an appearance in Senator Marshall's remarks, did it?—and one they are serially incapable of facing up to. We have watched their extraordinary, unprecedented waste from overpriced school halls to dangerous roof insulation to an overpriced and underdelivered NBN. And it does not matter how many times Senator Conroy pretends that a take-up rate of less than 50 per cent is a fantastic thing, it simply is not.

They have, as Senator Cash has said time and time again in this chamber, weakened our borders. We have more than 500 boats arriving, carrying a total of 30,000 illegal arrivals. They make policy changes in an area as important as immigration policy to this country on almost a half-daily basis. It is beyond description. It is beyond understanding that they are the government of a nation that was in such a good position, as Australia found itself, at the end of 2007.

In immigration a knee-jerk response is the best way towards a disaster, and this government is presiding over exactly that. But even more disappointingly, it is failing on things that should be beyond politics, things I have brought up in this chamber before: programs for the creation of jobs and economic development for Indigenous Australians; the positions of homeless people in Australia, where funding in these areas is up in the air—

Senator Polley interjecting—

seventeen per cent rise in the ABS statistics is nothing to brag about—and organisations that do not know whether they will be properly funded into the future are disappointed. (Time expired)

Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Payne made some initial comments today with regard to five years of the Gillard Labor government. I, for one, am very proud to be part of the Gillard government, and I think the past five years have been extremely good for Australia considering we have been through the global financial crisis and those on the opposite side did not want to support any of the bills we brought before parliament to help solve that.

I would like to point out that IMF Article IV on 16 November 2012 also refers to the past five years—that is, the past five years that we have had a Labor government. The quote is that five years on both the economy and the financial sector continue to outperform most of their peers. Those on the other side are scuttlebutting again, trying to come in here and scare the voters and the people of Australia that they are the only ones who know how to do anything and they are the only ones who know how to get it right. They need to listen to some of these quotes.

Maybe they could go and look up the IMF report in regard to economic management—the same article, Article IV, of 16 November 2012. It states that government's:

… 'adept handling of the fallout from the GFC, prudent economic management, and strong supervision of the financial sector' has kept Australia 'on the dwindling list of AAA rated countries'.

That is right—Australia is still a AAA rated country.

I find the attempts by the opposition at rewriting history and crystal ball gazing rather entertaining at times, but I have to say that today's input by Senator Mason was possibly some of the best I have seen from him. He often has us laughing in Senate estimates but today his—as Senator Marshall referred to it—evangelical sermon, with those in the congregation chanting there behind him to push him on, was quite something else.

The recent midyear review shows that the Gillard government is on track to return the budget to surplus and that the fundamentals of the Australian economy are strong despite the GFC and global turmoil. We have just seen the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook return the budget to surplus with billions of dollars in savings and we are on track to deliver that.

The pessimists on the other side of this chamber who constantly talk down the Australian economy should take pride in what this country has achieved in the face of those very challenging global conditions and the structural changes around them. We have completed a remarkable 21 years of economic growth—a stunning achievement unmatched by any other advanced economy to date; but those on the other side just come in here scaremongering and try to deny that.

We have an enviable combination of solid growth, low unemployment, contained inflation, strong public finances, solid consumption and an investment outlook that is still strong. At 3.25 per cent, we have lower official interest rates than at any time under the last coalition government, helping millions of families and small businesses. Australia has only the 51st-largest population in the world, but we have overtaken Spain to become the 12th-largest economy; we have overtaken Spain, Mexico and South Korea since this government came to office. The Australian economy is the envy of the developed world and the exaggeration and spin that we constantly get from that side of the chamber should be tempered by some facts, as opposed to their rhetoric.

As Senator Marshall also said, we have created over 800,000 jobs since we were first elected. From July this year we will be giving working families a tax cut so they get more money in their fortnightly pay cheques. Economists in the private sector have explicitly made the point that the growth outlook contained in MYEFO is reasonable and in line with their own forecasts. On 22 October, Westpac chief economist Bill Evans, said:

They have cut their growth forecast by a quarter of a percentage point. That is now in line with our own forecast and we of course support this view.

UBS chief economist Scott Haslem stated, on October 22, that 'the government's growth forecasts seem reasonable.' Finally, HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham stated:

I think these numbers look fairly sensible in the scheme of things.

We know we are coming to the end of the parliamentary year. We know that those on the other side just want to carry on with their scare campaigns and smear campaigns—the attack-dog mentality they have been going on with all year— (Time expired)

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Five years of the Labor government and this is what we have, colleagues. This is the contribution we have from the government on their record.

Senator Bilyk just said we are the envy of the developed world. If it was not so sad it would be laughable. When you look around this nation and see what the government has done to this country—when you walk down the main streets in regional towns or through the cities, talk to the businesses and see the complete lack of confidence in this government that is reverberating right around this nation—you know that it is this Labor government that has created the situation. There is no confidence. Small business out there has no confidence in this government whatsoever and money has stopped moving. People are not spending because they are so uncertain about what the future holds and it is all the fault of this Labor government. Five long, hard years—it is all about fives today; a five-year-old could do a better job of running the country than this current Labor government.

Senator Bilyk said we on this side should use some facts. Let us have a look at a few facts. This government has turned $70 billion in net assets into over $150 billion of net debt—fact. Only a government as bad as this Labor government could manage to do that. They have run up the four biggest deficits in Australian history following on from the Howard government's four biggest surpluses. This government sits in judgement on that side of the chamber and tries to tell us what a fabulous, terrific job they are doing. But—to go to what Senator Bilyk said—when you look at the facts it is simply not true.

Labor's failed border protection policies have blown out the immigration budget by around $6½ billion over the last four years. That is a fact. This government could not manage its way out of a tea party. They cannot manage money. They cannot make a decent policy decision to save themselves. We have seen the Home Insulation Program—$2½ billion mismanaged there. The computers in schools program had a $1½ billion blow-out. There were the Green Loans and Green Start programs—a $175 million Green Loans program was mismanaged and eventually dumped, then replaced with a $130 million Green Start program that—oh gosh, colleagues!—never started.

The list goes on and on. The solar homes program was cancelled with a blow-out of $850 million; the program was originally meant to cost $150 million. There were Labor's talkfests—colleagues, who can forget about all the talkfests we have seen? There was the 2020 Summit, the Henry tax review, the tax summit—a million dollars there—and the jobs summit, but there were hardly any outcomes. This government could not manage its way out of a paper bag. Billions of dollars were spent on the school halls program—the mismanagement there was just absolutely extraordinary. Forty-three billion dollars was spent on the NBN which is an absolute dog. Senator Conroy continually says in this place how fantastic and tremendous it is; it is absolute rubbish.

The list is endless. It goes on and on. Who can forget Fuelwatch and GROCERYchoice? Nearly $30 million spent setting them up—and then they were dumped. Every single example we look at of this waste, mismanagement and reckless spending is money that has not been spent on the things that needed to be done like things to improve the future in regional Australia. When it comes to things like health and education, there are around $3.9 billion in cuts to education funding in MYEFO.

The waste and mismanagement is breathtaking. My personal favourite is that the government sold the parliamentary billiard tables for around $5,000. Okay, fair enough. If they wanted to sell them, perhaps there was a need for it; go right ahead and sell them. What they then did was spend $102,000 determining whether or not they got value for money. That is extraordinary. With the waste, mismanagement and reckless spending we have seen from this government, it is no wonder people right across Australia do not trust this government or believe anything this government says. They know the only way forward for this nation is to support a coalition government in the future.

Question agreed to.