Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The President has received the following letter from Senator Fifield:

Pursuant to standing order 75, I propose that the following matter of public importance be submitted to the Senate for discussion:

The chronic dysfunction and maladministration of the Gillard Government.

Is the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

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

There is no doubt that this government is the most chronically dysfunctional in our nation's history. This Labor regime will go down as the government that finally made the Whitlam Labor government look good. The current debacle is the Whitlam experiment on steroids. This is a government whose strategy is twofold: first, buy themselves back into power whilst attacking Mr Abbott. Labor are mortgaging the long-term future of Australians in a desperate bid to buy their short-term personal future. What has happened to date is bad enough; just wait until Labor start on the superannuation of ordinary Australians, raiding the personal future of individual Australians for Labor's short-term benefit. Superannuation will simply be yet another broken promise.

From the carbon tax to same sex marriage to the surplus, we have a government that will say one thing before an election and then do exactly the opposite afterwards. We have a Prime Minister that was the chief defence counsel for Mr Craig Thomson for year after year and who praised him and said that she hoped he would be the member for Dobell for many years to come.

Indeed, we were told by her spin doctor Mr McTernan and others that she gave her best ever, most powerful speech to the parliament recently. It was not about her vision for the country, it was not about a policy issue about which she felt strongly. No, it was to defend none other than Mr Peter Slipper in a pathetic attempt to attack Mr Abbott, a speech that we now know was actually written by a man, yet she claims she will call misogyny whenever she sees it.

This is a government that has seen a record increase in the cost of living for our fellow Australians. On a personal basis, the Prime Minister calls for loyalty to her and her government. One assumes she means the same loyalty she extended to Mr Rudd and Senator Trish Crossin. In relation to Senator Crossin, she says, 'It was the captain's call.' Well, so was Mr Slipper. That was also a captain's call. Each time the Prime Minister makes a captain's call or makes a decision, the Australian people say her judgement needs to be questioned and they question her judgement.

In relation to Senator Crossin, let us not pretend that this was about a long-term concern by the Prime Minister to get an Aboriginal into the parliament. She had that opportunity with Mr Warren Mundine from New South Wales, where there was a vacancy available, and she deliberately sidelined Mr Mundine to get Mr Bob Carr out of naphthalene and parachute him into the Senate. We, on this side, have already had a distinguished senator, Neville Bonner, and the great local member in Ken Wyatt in the House of Representatives. Gillard thought she had to play catch-up. But what she did yet again in her clumsy way was to say, 'I am going to overcome an injustice by creating another injustice.' Indeed, if Senator Crossin was an employee of Ms Gillard, she would be off to Fair Work Australia for unfair dismissal and the damages would be flowing.

This is typical of this government. The Prime Minister will say one thing and demand a certain standard of the employers of this country and then do exactly the opposite in relation to the people she is in charge of. Labor are so good at saying to us, 'Do as we say, but then not as we do.' The government's failures are legion and I am sure others contributing to this debate will be able to point to other examples.

I want to say to the Australian people that there is good news in all this because there is a better way. The coalition does have a plan to deliver a stable and prosperous economy and a safe and secure Australia. On the current figures we would have the budget in surplus. Why? Because we are fiscally responsible. We know that you cannot borrow your way out of debt and we agree with Ms Gillard who, in one of her lucid moments, acknowledged the fact and the self-evident truth that getting back to surplus is 'necessary to relieve cost-of-living pressures on families'.

We agree and that is why we say the budget should be in surplus, not because of some economic theory but because it reduces the cost of living for Australian families. Ms Gillard said that failure to bring the budget back into surplus was not an option. We agree, but of course now we know that failure for this government is in fact an option. We would also abolish the carbon tax. That would see a decrease in the cost-of-living pressures for families, keeping in mind that their electricity bills have increased by 15.2 per cent since the introduction of the carbon tax.

The Labor Party go on about job security. Well, if they had any concern for the manufacturing sector, they would see the positive nature of abolishing the carbon tax. Every single Australian made car has a reverse tariff of $400 per unit on it, courtesy of the carbon tax. So every motor vehicle imported from South Korea and Japan has a $400 head start on price competitiveness compared to Australian made cars—and Labor claim that they are somehow concerned about jobs.

In all of this, there is not a squeak from the union bosses who get hundreds of dollars from each of the manufacturing workers of this country each year as union fees. Where are these union officials? Why are they not standing up for Australian manufacturing jobs and saying that the carbon tax should be abolished? I will tell you why: because they are more concerned about their Labor Party preselection for the future rather than looking after the interests of Australian workers. It is not only in the manufacturing sector. The dairy industry is another industry where family farms are being hit with an impost with this carbon tax of about $10,000 per annum.

Our positive plan also includes implementing a properly funded, paid parental leave scheme because we believe that such a scheme is a genuine workplace entitlement and not a social security benefit. We will cut green and red tape and save small business about $1 billion per annum, which will see them being able to reduce their prices and, as a result, reduce the cost of living for Australians. We will secure our borders, saving Australians billions of dollars and, might I add, delivering justice to those waiting patiently in refugee camps around the world.

We have an affordable infrastructure program to improve the roads for our nation. We are, in fact, internally stable. There is no doubt that Mr Abbott will be leading us to the next election. We have a clear plan. We have solid, stable leadership. We have a vision for this country, knowing that Australia can do so much better than she is doing now. The thing that is holding Australia back is not the Australian people, it is not the environment and it is not the economy: it is the government of this country that has so failed the Australian people. We, as a coalition, look forward to making 14 September 2013 the real Clean Up Australia Day.

Matt Thistlethwaite (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The motion that we debate this afternoon is another waste of time—another exercise in futility by those opposite. I often wonder what Australians who watch Senate proceedings on television at home, or indeed those in the public gallery, think of motions such as this one that we debate this afternoon. Often you can see it on the faces of those present in the gallery when they are watching the proceedings. You can see that they are thinking that these proceedings are childish, a waste of time, and in some respects, egocentric. Every year when parliament begins we come in here hopeful that the standards of contribution from the opposition will improve; that they will realise the main game in this place is policy and policy development and who has the better plan for our nation; the contest of ideas; a better future for our country. But no, I read the MPI this morning and I see again another exercise in futility—what is, in essence, another high school debating topic that the parliament is going to waste the next hour on.

A couple weeks ago I had the great pleasure, or fortunate opportunity, to tour Coonabarabran with the Prime Minister in the wake of the devastating bushfires that ravaged that area. I toured the area with the mayor, Peter Shinton, and the member for Parkes, Mark Coulton. We met some great Australians: people like Bob Fenwick, a Rural Fire Service captain who, when his own house was burning down, was not present because he was up the road saving one of his neighbours' houses. I saw and met some of the families that are struggling to cope with the fact that they have lost it all—lost their home and their belongings, lost their stock, lost a lot of memories. They wanted support from government. They wanted support to help them get through and they got it. The Prime Minister was there, I was there, Mark Coulton was there. All levels of government were represented. Kevin Humphries was there, and Centrelink officers were there to meet with people every day to reassure them that they would have the support of government. We announced a national disaster recovery payment, immediately available for those families that needed help. We announced that donations to the mayor's appeal would be tax-deductible.

When Queensland was ravaged by floods once again over the last couple of weeks, they wanted support from government and they got it. When a couple years ago many people were left without insurance from the floods in Queensland they wanted action from the government and they got it when Bill Shorten banged the heads of the insurance companies together, sat them down and made them work out a definition of 'flood' to ensure that those people could enjoy insurance for what is unfortunately becoming an annual event in the north of Australia.

If those Australians could see what goes on in this parliament at times, some of the puerile issues that we debate, I think they would be horrified and, most importantly, unfortunately, I think they would feel let down. I am not opposed to having an argument, not at all. I am not opposed to having a debate. That is the great beauty of this place, but it should be about ideas. It should be about who has the better policy. Let us at least make those disagreements about who has a better future for our nation. The main game is policy and when you look at and analyse the policies of this government we have done a good job. We have made progress for Australia.

When we came to government our economy was the 15th largest in the world. Because of this government's economic management it is now the 12th largest economy in the world. We have gone past South Korea, we have gone past Mexico and we have gone past Spain. The Australian dollar is the fourth most traded currency in the world. Why? Because we have a stable democracy and we have a strong economy; people see value in trading the Australian dollar and they see it, most importantly, as safe. We have managed our economy in a manner that is fair.

The most important security you could provide a family is a job, and since we have come to government we have created 700,000 new jobs in this economy. In a time when most economies, particularly those of Europe and the United States, have lost jobs and have gone backwards, this has not happened in Australia. We have maintained our position as a strong economy and provided a means to support families through having a job. But we have not only been giving people jobs, we have made those jobs fairer because we introduced the Fair Work Act to ensure that people could not be forced onto individual contracts and have their conditions ripped away from them.

We have supported families in all that we have done through the taxation system to make it fairer through the process of introducing a carbon price. It has been about supporting families to ensure that as our economy progresses those on low to middle incomes have the opportunity to better themselves and provide a better education for their kids and a better healthcare system in their local community, and that is what we have fought for. We have provided tax cuts. Most recently we have provided about $300 a year in tax cuts for those who are on less than $80,000 a year. We have increased the tax-free threshold from $6,000 to $18,000, providing a massive tax break for those on low incomes. We have introduced a school kids bonus because we understand that parents struggle to meet the costs of sending kids to school each year. We have helped them with that.

We have rebuilt every single school in this country. We spent $16 billion in the best way you can spend government money—on education, on a better future and on a more productive economy through the Building the Education Revolution. We put new computers in nearly every school in this country. We have built trade training centres to ensure that kids who are not academically minded have the opportunity to begin a trade whilst they are at school.

Climate change is the most significant challenge of our time. This government has introduced a policy that has seen emissions in our economy reduce, ensuring that we provide a better future for our children. Importantly, we have done this in the most efficient and least costly way for our economy. Guess what? It is working in the manner in which the government modelled it—the cost is less than one per cent on the consumer price index and families have got support to make that transition to a clean energy future.

Our economy faces a major challenge with the ageing of our population. Over the next couple of decades there will be a dramatic reduction in the number of people who are working in our economy to support our retirees. We are planning for that. We have reformed our superannuation system, pushing compulsory superannuation contributions from nine per cent to 12 per cent over the next eight years, to ensure that people retire with an adequate savings bank so that there is less of an impost on our social security system, our healthcare system and our aged-care system.

For those on low incomes we have effectively wiped out tax on superannuation through the low-income superannuation contribution. Anyone who earns less than $37,000 in our economy pays no tax on their superannuation—none at all. That provides an incentive for those people to go to work rather than to go out of work and go on welfare. What is the coalition's approach to that policy? Last week at the National Press Club when Tony Abbott was asked by a journalist, 'Would an Abbott-led government scrap the low-income superannuation contribution?' his words were, 'Yes, that stands.' They will get rid of the low-income superannuation contribution, imposing a tax increase on 3.5 million workers in this country. The lowest paid, those earning less than $37,000, will pay more tax under a Liberal Abbott government. Unfortunately, most of those are women who work part time. As if they are not doing it tough enough, they will be kicked in the guts by an Abbott-led government. Just last night we saw Christopher Pyne on Q&A

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Thistlethwaite, I let it go a moment ago, but address members of the other house by their correct titles please.

Matt Thistlethwaite (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I saw Mr Christopher Pyne, a member of the House of Representatives, contradict Tony Abbott in saying that they now will not get rid of that policy. Senator Brandis can perhaps tell us if Tony Abbott is right or if Christopher Pyne is right.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I follow that rather sad and essentially valedictory contribution by Senator Matt Thistlethwaite, one of the proteges of the New South Wales Right of the Labor Party, to which I will return. Throughout the length and breadth of Australia today people have a sense that the government is in crisis, that it is in terminal decline, that it is utterly divided and that the wheels are falling off. This happens to all governments with the passage of time and today it is happening to the government of Julia Gillard. So deep are the divisions within this government that this morning's newspapers carried reports leaked from the Labor Party caucus meeting yesterday that the Prime Minister warned her own troops that their greatest enemy was the enemy within. The greatest enemy of the Labor government is the people within the Labor government, so divided have the government become against themselves. It is a government which has lost its way, which lacks integrity, which entirely lacks a vision for Australia and, indeed, which lacks the elementary competency to govern.

Last Wednesday Ms Gillard inflicted upon the Australian people the very last thing they wanted or needed—that is, a 227-day-long election campaign. This catastrophic error of political judgement was variously described by members of her own Labor caucus—and they were quoted without attribution in the weekend newspapers—as 'pathetic', 'suicidal' and 'bizarre'. Since that day the government has lurched from crisis to crisis. Within 24 hours the de facto Labor member for Dobell, Mr Craig Thomson, had been arrested and charged with 149 counts of fraud. This is the man upon whom the Gillard government relies for its existence. When Ms Gillard was asked at that Press Club address by a journalist: 'Will there be days for governing and days for campaigning?' she said: 'Yes, there will be. Some days will be days for governing and some days will be days for campaigning.' I think Ms Gillard needs to add a third category. There will be days set aside for governing, there will be days set aside for campaigning and there will be days set aside—a lot of days set aside—for court appearances. Because in the coming weeks and months, these are the various Labor party politicians, supporters and affiliates who face serious allegations of fraud now before the courts.

I have mentioned Mr Craig Thomson's 149 counts of fraud. These are on top of the Fair Work Australia proceedings to seek restitution from the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Fair Work Australia found, after inquiry, he had thieved from low-paid workers of the Health Services Union, presently stayed pending the criminal charges. As yet, we have yet to see the outcome of Strike Force Carnarvon; the New South Wales police investigation into other allegations of bribery and secret commissions against Mr Craig Thomson, the member for Dobell, upon whose vote the Gillard government depends. Meanwhile, in the coming week there are the fraud charges against the other man upon whose vote the Gillard government depends, Mr Peter Slipper. Meanwhile, there are the fraud charges against Mr Michael Williamson. Mr Michael Williamson was the federal president of the Australian Labor Party who gave the green light to the installation of Ms Gillard as Prime Minister in a midnight political coup on 23 June 2010, when an elected prime minister—the Hon. Kevin Rudd—was removed by the faceless men. Mr Williamson is not so faceless these days; we see his face in the line-up. On top of all that, there is the ongoing scandals touching the Prime Minister herself concerning the AWU slush fund—not my words, but hers. Who could possibly imagine that a government so corrupted, so mired in sleaze and criminality could possibly conduct the affairs of the nation?

Just when one thought that it could not get any worse for Ms Gillard, on Friday night, again in the dark of night—this government has a propensity to do things in the dark of night—two senior ministers, our colleague Senator Evans and my opposite number—the minister whom I shadow—the Attorney-General, Ms Roxon, resigned suddenly. I can take at face value Senator Evans's explanation of his retirement. He has served in the Senate for 20 years and has led the pack of zombies—Senator Doug Cameron's words, not mine—who sit behind him for eight years. I can believe that Senator Chris Evans might have had enough. I do not believe that of Ms Roxon. As Lady Bracknell may have said: to lose one senior minister is a misfortune, but to lose two seems like carelessness. Well, in fact, worse than carelessness—catastrophe. The Australian public knows that the wheels are falling off this government and so do its members when not only Senator Evans but Ms Roxon and Mr Robert McClelland—her predecessor as Attorney-General—decide there is no point in contesting the next election.

At least they got to go under their own steam. Unlike our colleague, Senator Trish Crossin, who was politically butchered by one of the most brutal acts of political butchery any of us have ever seen, dismissed from her position by prime ministerial fiat because—on the Prime Minister's own admission—the Australian Labor Party had failed to preselect one Indigenous person to sit in the Australian parliament. Some 42 years after my late friend, the great Neville Bonner, first sat in this chamber as a representative of the Queensland Liberal Party, the Australian Labor Party had to butcher one of their own to force the preselection of an Indigenous Australian.

I would not like these dramatic political events—the events suggestive of chaos and terminal decline that we have witnessed in the last few days—to be allowed to obscure or let pass unnoticed an even more significant contribution: the speech on Saturday of the current federal Vice President of the Australian Labor Party, Mr Tony Sheldon, to the Young Labor conference. This is the Labor Party's federal vice president, not a Liberal politician. He said the Labor Party was in a 'catastrophic' situation. Tony Sheldon said:

Our crisis is more than just a crisis of trust brought on by the corrupt behaviour of property scammers and lobbyists. It's a crisis of belief brought on by lack of moral and political purpose.

He said 'there must be no understating the gravity of the crisis here' in New South Wales, 'no blame shifting and no dodging of responsibility to set things right'. And, significantly, although placing the primary blame on the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party, Mr Tony Sheldon said this is a crisis that affects every state and every faction of the Australian Labor Party.

When your own immediate past federal president stands in the dock of the court facing serious allegations of criminal fraud, and your current federal vice president says your government is—his word, not mine—a catastrophe which represents a party which lacks a moral or political purpose, then that seems to me a description of a government and a political movement in terminal decline. So worried are they about themselves—this endless conversation about the eternal, broiling miasma that is the modern Australian Labor Party—no wonder they cannot deliver on a single promise. No wonder they cannot, in particular, get the budget back into surplus.

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, another year, another waste of parliamentary time. Yet another matter of public importance from the opposition, yet more relentless bellyaching negativity. It may be a new parliamentary year, but of course there is nothing new from the opposition. Today we have heard from Senator Brandis that the opposition is concerned about the retirement of long-serving ministers from federal parliament. He says that this is a sign of political dysfunction. Both Senator Evans and Ms Roxon have served in senior cabinet portfolios for over five years. Let us get real: they both had long parliamentary careers. Neither will cause a by-election by resigning from parliament, neither of them will stick the taxpayers for the cost of a by-election at the conclusion of their parliamentary career. This is rather a different course of action to that taken by senior members of the Liberal and National parties in recent years. Mr McGauran, from the National Party, resigned and caused a by-election. Mr Downer resigned and caused a by-election. Mr Vaile, the leader of the National Party, resigned and caused a by-election. Dr Brendan Nelson, a very recent leader of the Liberal Party, resigned and caused a by-election. And Mr Peter Costello, who is of course Senator Brandis's political hero, resigned and caused a by-election. So it is true that people do resign and move on in politics. It is the way of things. But I consider that it is appropriate for a minister to announce their intentions prior to an election. I did it myself before the last election because I consider it to be the right thing to do. But I do not recall Mr McGauran, Mr Downer, Mr Vaile, Dr Nelson or former Treasurer Costello doing that.

In the case of my colleague Senator Evans, he has led his party in this chamber for eight years. Few have served so long in leadership positions and I think few can match the contribution that he has made. When anyone in the Liberal Party can do so, I will be the first to say that they are in a position to pass judgement. Until then, I suggest the opposition take a more dignified approach and simply congratulate Senator Evans for his long and meritorious service.

There has been a lot of talk, and we have just heard it, about the Prime Minister's announcement of the timing of the 2013 federal election. She has announced that the writs will be issued on Monday, 12 August, with the election being held on Saturday, 14 September. I am a longstanding supporter of fixed-term elections. I am pleased that weeks of political debate in this country this year will not be focused on mindless speculation about when the election will be called and held. Hopefully this will mean that there will be more focus on the merits of the candidates and parties who contest the election. We should not forget that New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory all have fixed election dates. So the situation really is not going to be any different in relation to this year's federal election. I personally happen to think this is a good development.

In this matter of public importance the opposition again accuse the government of chronic dysfunction and maladministration. They make that claim lacking insight into their own obvious shortcomings. They make this claim without any capacity for self-reflection, without any acknowledgement that the opposition is a policy-free zone, without any admission of their own deficiencies, their own manifest weaknesses. Who could forget the leaked internal coalition documents that showed that the Liberals would have to make $70 billion in cuts to the budget over four years to pay for their promises? Who could forget Mr Abbott, Mr Hockey and Mr Robb tying themselves in knots trying to explain that disaster away? And we are still waiting for their explanation; I suspect it will not be forthcoming. We know that $70 billion in cuts would be the equivalent of stopping family tax benefit payments for three years or cutting the age pension for two years. In the absence of any policies, all we really know about Mr Abbott and his colleagues on the other side of the chamber is that they would threaten jobs and saddle Australians with the impact of a massive budget black hole. We know that they would continue to keep their heads in the sand in relation to the disastrous impacts of climate change.

Senator Joyce interjecting—

I know you laugh at that, Senator Joyce, but you are well known as a climate change denier. You are entitled to that view. You are entitled to stand up against all the science and maintain your position. Good luck to you—you will need it. We know that the coalition will ignore the Gonski recommendations and strip away millions from education, and destroy the NBN, leaving businesses and households without the benefit of a 21st century communications network. Mr Abbott and the opposition's belligerent and merciless negativity will never be a substitute for the policies needed to secure Australia's future. Senator Brandis can fulminate as much as he likes, but we all know that in September this year Australians will make a choice. Regardless of the carping of Senator Brandis and the opposition, I can assure you that the government will continue to argue its strong case—

Opposition senators interjecting—

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

for building a strong Australian economy in the Asian century and preparing us for a carbon-free future. (Time expired)

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

I hope building a strong Australia is nothing like the Building the Education Revolution. You go through this, and where do you start? I have just been jotting a few notes down and I thought, 'Chaos is what we need to talk about', so this should be interesting. In the historical section we have: ceiling insulation—that is where they set fire to 194 houses and, tragically, four people died; school halls were another disaster; and Grocery Watch, this voyeuristic belief that somehow staring at something changes the price. That was not good enough, so we went to Fuel Watch. Then we had the green loans. Then we had the East Timor solution. Then there was the Malaysian solution. Then there was your mate Rudd, the member for Griffith, who was removed at midnight by the faceless men, and we got the free character assessment from his colleagues: from Conroy, who has now been promoted to leader for his character assessment; from Swan, who is the Treasurer; from Crean—

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Joyce, refer to those members by their correct names and titles.

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

the Treasurer, Mr Swan—I suppose you can call him a treasurer. Still on their historical form you have the carbon tax promise: 'There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead'—and then there was. We had the crazy association of this Labor-Green-Independent alliance, Green-Labor Party alliance, glee club or whatever you like to call it. Then we had the surplus promise that turned into the deficit promise. We had the live cattle debacle where we got our biggest neighbour and decided to try and make them our biggest enemy overnight. If you were not on the microform, we have the purchase of Toorale Station for $23.75 million—I have mentioned it before—without even setting a foot on the place. They observed the place from 30,000 feet as they flew to Darwin. Then we have, of course, Mr Thomson, who was going to be the member for Dobell for a long, long time. Then we had their appointment of Peter Slipper. We had the AWU slush fund. If you go right back to the start, I can remember Mr Rudd leaking the conversation that he had with the President of the United States to the front page of the paper. It just goes on. It is no wonder that it is manic. It is no wonder that it is out of control.

Then you think, 'Well that is all in the past; they have had an epiphany; they fell off their donkey on the road to Damascus, and everything is better now.' This is the only crowd who can stuff things up at work without actually being there. Before they have even come back, I turn on the television and, so help me, they have taken some person who is not even a member of the Labor party and made them the senator for the Northern Territory. Where does that come from? How do you dream these things up? We could not possibly do that to you; you're too good! We should have stayed away for weeks! You would be out of government if you had stayed away for another couple of weeks. You would have finished yourselves off. Where else are we going to have a captain's pick? I bet you they are worried in the ACT—we might get a captain's pick down here. Who are you going to pick as your senator down here? Who would know? What else is the captain's pick? It sounds almost unsanitary what she is picking!

Then we have senior ministers just resigning—they are dying like flies. Of course we get this every time: 'Don't worry. It's all under control.' The Attorney-General of the Commonwealth of Australia goes 'pop' and disappears. The 3IC—the third in charge—of the running of our nation goes 'pop' and disappears. They are just gone, and they have all got these gracious reasons of why they have got to go. I can never work out why the Attorney-General became the Attorney-General, because apparently a year ago she knew she was not going to be the Attorney-General. She must have just wanted a temporary posting in that role, because that is what the Commonwealth needs: a temporary person to run the legal system and jurisprudence of this nation! That's so logical! As soon as the Prime Minister knew about it, she should have said, 'Yes, you're going to be so important for 12 months you must stay in that role.' No, that is a completely believable situation! I am completely on board with that. Of course now we have got Mr Thomson—149 charges. I think he is over there. He is still in the building. It just goes on. All it needs is the Monty Python theme song.

On a more serious note, we have the debt that I have been talking about over and over again. The gross debt is now in excess of $262 billion, and I admit that I started banging on about this when it was $80 billion, so I have a bit of a concern about this. Since we have been here, I have seen this crowd go through the $75 billion overdraft limit, the $200 billion temporary overdraft limit, the quarter-trillion dollar limit, and now we have a $300 billion limit. Last week you borrowed $2.2 billion just for the week. It just rolls off the tongue. I will tell you that there are 2,155 companies on the Australian Stock Exchange and 2,064 of them have a capitalisation less than what you borrowed last week. Ninety-six per cent of them have a capitalisation less than what you borrowed last week. And you think that is sane? If you were buying houses in regional Australia you would buy between 6,000 and 7,000 houses with what you borrowed just last week—and that is supposed to be sane. When there was a change of government, the net financial worth—which is your financial assets less liabilities—was about $18 billion in the red. Our net worth position, which is total assets less liabilities, was actually in credit by $70 million.

But I can tell you where we are now. In the budget papers—the general government sector net financial worth—the net financial worth of our financial assets less our liabilities is now $¼ trillion out the back door. That is our position. These are your own figures. It is going to be worse than that, because that was on the basis that this year there would be a surplus. But of course this year is going to be a deficit so it just gets worse and worse and worse.

In the meantime, whilst all this is happening, we have this scenario. I can assure you that when people hear our Prime Minister speak now, they just turn off the television. They cannot stand it. When they see our Treasurer they almost cry; they cannot believe that this person is in a role of responsibility. It is out of control. Then you hear that apparently they cannot deal with the fact that 600 farmers are being done over by an overcentralised retail market with $1 for milk. The government cannot deal with that—that is all too complicated—but they can change the temperature of the globe! With a carbon tax they can change the temperature of the globe!

Senator Faulkner says that I deny climate change. I do not deny climate change at all. I just deny that they have the capacity to change it back. I was watching the weather intently over the Christmas break and since the carbon tax it seems to be around about where we left it last time. I thought that it was all going to be better now that the carbon tax is in. I thought that we had climate nirvana, but it is about where we left it. I want my money back. What happened to the weather? It was supposed to be fixed up by now after the carbon tax!

Dairy farmers are being ripped off. Small businesses are so much under the pump. The high street is so much under the pump. They are doing it tough. As for the infrastructure, where is inland rail? What happened to it? They put $30 million towards it. They put more towards advertising than they do towards looking after regional Australia's crucial infrastructure. This is the result of what we have got.

I once had a boss who, when he looked at a set of books, would always say to me, 'If you did not laugh, you would cry,' and that is how we feel about our nation at the moment. It is pathetic. It is so out of control that if you did not laugh, you would cry. And grinning over it all is the Cheshire cat, Kevin the cat. We can see what is going to happen. We can see it a mile away. The press are around him—they are leaking; it is all coming back. They have just come to the epiphany that they are about to lose their job, and all of a sudden we can see turmoil and craziness about to break out into its next stage. When I see a big smiley face on the member for Griffith, I know that he is not going anywhere but back into an office that is between here and the other chamber on the other side on the blue carpet.

Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on today's matter of public importance submitted by the opposition on the record of the Gillard Labor government. I am particularly proud of this record and particularly proud of Labor's plan for Australia's future. We have just heard a lengthy diatribe from those opposite, seeking to talk down this record as though working to secure the jobs of hardworking Australian families through the greatest economic challenge since the Great Depression is a bad thing. This government has stayed focused on securing the jobs of working Australians throughout our term, and what better marker of ongoing success than the creation of more than 800,000 jobs during the worst of economic times around the globe. When nations around the world were putting their hands in the air, this Labor government got on with the job of governing, of assisting the community to build vital roads and classrooms and assisting business to create jobs. Everyone in this place knows the fantastic job done throughout the global financial crisis by the Labor government. Labor's fast, targeted action to stimulate the economy has seen our economy now 10 per cent larger than before the GFC, while many other advanced economies are still smaller than they were before the global crisis.

I would like to list five economic statistics that show that as things stand Australia's economy is tracking along quite nicely. They are: (1) annual GDP growth is 3.1 per cent, around the long-term target of three per cent; (2) the annual inflation rate is 2.2 per cent, nicely within the Reserve Bank's target range; (3) the unemployment rate is 5.4 per cent and, while never low enough, it is well below the average of the Howard government; (4) the annual wage-price index is at 3.7 per cent, just 1.5 per cent higher than the inflation rate, giving working Australians more opportunities each year, and; (5) the standard variable mortgage rate is 6.45 per cent, which is making home ownership affordable for many Australians. These five statistics highlight that the Australian economy is tracking very well.

And just for the fun of it, I would like to add a sixth, a sixth that definitely would not be possible without the interventionist approach the Labor government took in 2008 and 2009 to stimulate the Australian economy. The sixth is that starting with the Hawke-Keating Labor government, Australia has achieved 21 years of consecutive economic growth. During these 21 years, with roughly half under a Labor government and half under a Liberal government, sustained reforms began with the Hawke and Keating governments, continued through to the Rudd and Gillard governments—like the reforms and quick action we took in 2008 and 2009 to stimulate the economy—and continue to set Australia up as a great place to work, to do business and to raise a family. I would like to turn my focus to the great achievements of the Rudd and Gillard Labor governments for the electorate of Braddon, in north-west Tasmania, where I live. We have had achievements across health, education, roads, rail and ports, tourism, industry development and innovation. North-west Tasmania always does better with a Labor government. Federal Labor has delivered two GP superclinics for north-west Tasmania, one in Burnie and one in Devonport. It was interesting to read in our local paper, the Advocate, earlier this week when Senator Colbeck was caught knee-deep in the mud. Senator Colbeck was caught trying to sling mud at the proprietors of the Devonport superclinic for not accepting new patients when a quick call to the clinic would have alleviated his concern. In fact there are three new doctors now taking new patients at the clinic. Together with the Burnie clinic, the strain is being taken off the emergency departments at the North West Regional Hospital and the Mersey Community Hospital. People who do not need the high level of care of an emergency department are being seen within the community—a Labor reform that is saving the community money and keeping people from the stress of going to hospital.

George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Acting Deputy President, I raise a point of order that is directed to relevance. I know that there is a lot of latitude given in these MPI debates and that the topic is broad, but the topic in fact is about the incompetence and dysfunction of the Gillard government. I am a little at a loss to see how an attack on Senator Richard Colbeck in relation to the Mersey hospital is relevant at all to the topic of the MPI.

Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Urquhart, I would draw your attention to the topic of the MPI.

Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was, in my opinion, getting to the topic, and I will keep going.

Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Getting to the topic is not sufficient; you need to be on the topic.

Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was on the topic, with respect, and I will continue. While keeping people out of hospital is the goal, Labor has significantly refurbished the only Commonwealth owned hospital, the Mersey Community Hospital in Latrobe. Labor committed in 2007 to following through with the Commonwealth takeover of the hospital and, since then, has ensured that it is a valuable community asset. With over $200 million in investment, a significant boost on previous agreements for the hospital, there have been major refurbishments and the purchase of new equipment. Where the Coalition has seen and used this hospital as a political plaything, Labor has got on with the job of delivering a funding boost and ensuring that the people of north-west Tasmania get access to the quality health care they deserve. Importantly, the hospital is being run by the Tasmanian government as part of the north-west Tasmanian health system. With two quality hospitals within 40 minutes' drive, the Tasmanian hospital system is able to provide specialist care and services in either one facility or the other. This maximises the services available to north-west Tasmanians.

Labor has not stopped with just a refurbishment to suit existing conditions and existing staff. Ever with an eye to the future, we have invested over $1 million in a centre of excellence in clinical education at the Mersey hospital. This centre of excellence is ensuring that existing staff at the hospital are continuing their professional development, and it allows for the training of doctors and nurses and for allied health professionals to access quality training in their discipline.

Along the coast, in Burnie, Labor is on track to deliver a regional cancer clinic to provide treatment and support to north-west and west coast residents suffering from cancer. This $16½ million investment is the result of tremendous lobbying by the member for Braddon, Mr Sid Sidebottom, and the community at large, which unfortunately has the second-highest incidence of cancer in the country. When it opens, most north-west Tasmanians will not have to travel that distance away from their support networks, while those in the remote parts of the region will have less distance to travel.

Turning to education, no-one can drive across north-west Tasmania without noticing the 65 schools that were enhanced through the Building the Education Revolution. From the over $6 million invested in new classrooms at the amalgamated Romaine Park Primary School, in Upper Burnie, to the new $2 million science centres at Ulverstone High School and Yolla District High School that are giving students hands-on experience at botany, biology and applied science, these are real investments in the learning environment of students and in facilities for teachers. They are not overpriced school halls that the opposition so often shout about in this place. It is interesting that, when they are in here or when we catch them on a news interview, those opposite are more than happy to talk down these investments in school infrastructure which they know provided a much-needed boost to the schools both in Braddon and right across the country.

My advice to those opposite in this election year is simple: do not talk about them. Just pretend they do not exist, because we are really proud of them on this side of the chamber and we know millions of Australian children and their parents are proud of them too. Take the multipurpose halls and libraries that were built across the north-west coast, including at Spreyton Primary School. These halls are now the pride of a community like Spreyton, and they can be used after hours by other groups and on weekends to run events. A new library provides a warm and welcoming environment for students to become excited by reading, setting them up for a lifetime of learning.

Across the north-west, Labor's Nation Building Program has boosted the economic infrastructure that gets the fantastic goods our region produces to market and the social infrastructure of sporting halls and facilities and nature reserves. The new swimming pool at Devonport will enable year-round swimming lessons and recreation in an undercover pool for the people of the north-west. The shared pathways built from Ulverstone to Turners Beach and from Burnie through to Somerset are a now vital piece of community infrastructure connecting outer suburbs, with little or no public transport, to the larger centres. To see the hundreds of children and their families using these paths after school and on the weekends is evidence that they are worth every cent—families that no doubt receive the Schoolkids Bonus, a twice yearly payment designed specifically to help with cost-of-living pressures associated with raising a family and getting kids back to school. Most of these same families that use this pathway and benefit from the Schoolkids Bonus are benefitting now from the low-income superannuation co-contribution and cuts to taxes delivered by Labor. These are measures that this Labor government has implemented to make it easier for families to make ends meet, but those opposite would take them all away. They would take away the tax cuts, take away the boost to retirement savings and take away the cash assistance to help with the costs of raising kids.

Today the issue raised is about dysfunction, and we are here to talk about dysfunction. It is well and truly on display with the priorities of those opposite.

Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The time the debate has expired.