Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Mental Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Minister for Health, Senator Nash. I refer to the Prime Minister's promise of 'no cuts to health'. Can the minister confirm that the Prime Minister is breaking his promise by cutting $377 million from preventive health, including abolishing the Australian National Preventive Health Agency? Why is the government sacrificing the health and wellbeing of Australians in order to pay for the Prime Minister's broken promise?

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government is committed to action on preventive health, but a focus on prevention is about more than creating a new bureaucracy with 'prevention' in its name. This is the agency that funded studies into fat taxes nobody wanted, sponsored the Summernats burnout competition and funded fake music festivals—hardly a good use of taxpayers' money.

Preventive health issues can still be progressed without the need for another Commonwealth-funded agency. And we will do so. Abolishing the Australian National Preventive Health Agency will streamline and better coordinate preventive health efforts that are currently spread across the Commonwealth health portfolio agencies.

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Order on both sides! It does not assist question time when people interject across the chamber.

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Abolishing ANPHA will streamline and better coordinate preventive health efforts that are currently spread across the Commonwealth health portfolio agencies, removing unnecessary duplication, regulation and costs. It will cease operations and we will reintegrate essential ongoing functions into the Department of Health, where most of their functions originally came from. The Department of Health is more than capable of providing these functions

The government does not need a separate agency to continue working with jurisdictions and other stakeholders, seeking expert advice or forming productive working relationships with other bodies. These collaborations will continue where necessary.

The government has a strong track record in supporting preventative health. Previous coalition initiatives include graphic health warnings to reduce smoking rates. We supported breast screening and introduced the National Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Program and the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. The best prevention is investment in services, including vaccines, medicines and doctors.

Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Mental Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I refer again to the Prime Minister's promise of no cuts to health. I also refer to the government's decision to cut $360 million from programs to help children increase physical activity, to tackle obesity and to improve healthy eating. Given the minister has already shut down the Health Star Rating website, are there any programs that the minister has not cut that will help keep our children healthy?

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian government will continue to invest in prevention through activities targeted at specific needs in the population and will support people to take personal responsibility for their lifestyle actions to reduce their health related risk factors. Funding to jurisdictions through the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health has not been an efficient way for the Commonwealth to achieve preventative health outcomes and has led to the duplication of effort and programs. We have seen a number of measures undertaken to ensure that we will have focus on preventative health into the future. This government is absolutely focused on tackling obesity and ensuring particularly our young people have every educational opportunity they can to improve their lifestyle and health choices.

Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Mental Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Again I refer to the Prime Minister's promise of no cuts to health. Given that smoking kills over 15,000 Australians each year, why is the Prime Minister breaking his promise and cutting the National Tobacco Campaign? Can the minister further advise the Senate which tobacco companies, donors or lobbyists she met, or her office met, before budget night?

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The government is absolutely focused on reducing smoking. We have the Prime Minister that led the way, as a previous health minister, when it comes to reducing smoking and tackling that very important issue across the nation. We have moved from the existing agency, ANPHA, some of the programs, some of the arrangements, around smoking. That will still be a targeted social marketing campaign aimed at Indigenous and lower socioeconomic people, because the research shows that that is where it is most effective. That is coupled with the existing $5 million for the tobacco campaign—

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I am not taking a point of order on relevance. I am just asking, in terms of the second part of the question, is the minister prepared to put that on notice?

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

No. You have got to take a point of order. You cannot have a second run at the question. Minister, continue. You have got 13 seconds remaining.

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, the current funding available that is focused on ensuring that we have the appropriate tobacco campaign—

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I now will take a point of order on relevance, to do with the second part of the question, which the minister has not come close to answering, about the people who have lobbied her.

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

The minister has three seconds remaining to address that part of the question.

Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Assistant Minister for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr President. Of course, my office— (Time expired)

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance, Senator Cormann. In his budget speech last night, the Treasurer concluded by saying:

As Australians, we must not leave our children worse off.

That is not fair.

That is not our way.

At the same time, your budget introduced staggeringly punitive measures for young people, especially those struggling to find work. My question, on behalf of the 730,000 young people affected by changes to Newstart, is as follows: how is a younger person who is currently looking for work but lives in an area of high youth unemployment and has received no income at all for six months supposed to eat, supposed to pay rent and supposed to clothe themselves? Minister, is condemning someone to poverty now 'our way'?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Greens for a question on the budget today. It seems that the other side over there is not all that interested in asking questions directly about the budget. Let me just say this. The Treasurer is of course absolutely right. We do need to do the right thing by our children and by our grandchildren. And guess what: funding our consumption today, funding our lifestyle today, funding our quality of life today, based on borrowing, on debt and deficits, forcing our children to fund the cost of our standard of living today and pay it back with interest is not doing the right thing by our children and grandchildren.

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Order! When there is silence, we will proceed. People asked the question. They would like to hear the answer. They are entitled to hear the answer. Senator Cormann, continue.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As a result of the waste and mismanagement of the Labor Party in government, we are in a situation now where we have to borrow $1 billion a month just to fund the interest on the debt that they have accumulated in government. Just imagine. That is like a family putting their groceries on the credit card, putting their wine and their utilities or whatever onto the credit card and getting their children and grandchildren to pay the price for it. Actually it is worse. It is the same as putting your groceries on the credit card, running the credit card up and borrowing more money to pay the interest on your credit card so that your kids eventually, down the track, have to pay the bill. That is reducing opportunity for our children and our grandchildren. We want to create opportunity for our children and grandchildren. We want to build a stronger economy, where everyone has the opportunity to get ahead. We want to build a stronger economy, where people have more opportunity, not less.

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Senator Cormann, whilst you only have a short amount of time left to answer the question, I ask you to resume your seat for the simple reason that there are too many people trying to talk across the chamber. It is disorderly. You are entitled to be heard in silence, and Senator Di Natale is entitled to hear the answer. Continue.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In relation to the question about young people and the dole: on this side of the chamber we do not think it is appropriate for someone to walk straight out of the school onto the dole. We actually think it is appropriate for a young person to either earn or learn. We think that it is appropriate— (Time expired)

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, your budget carries with it the strong message that this is a budget for future generations and that you want to see young people either earning or learning, but changes in the budget mean that the cost of a degree from some universities will now skyrocket, with some courses soon to cost more than $100,000 and with young people facing a further hit with the interest to student loans set to become more expensive. Minister, if this is a budget for future generations, why have you punished them and let the big end of town off scot-free?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I completely reject that last assertion, but let me just make this point: this is a budget which ensures that today's generation funds its own costs. When it comes to education, what we are doing is pursuing a very exciting reform in higher education. We do not have a single university right now in the world's top 20. We want to have a university in the top 20 in the world. We should have a university in the top 20 in the world.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Government Senators:

Government senators interjecting—

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

Senator Cormann, once again resume your seat.

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You think that's what's going to do it? Paying off your mates on the North Shore?

Senator Ronaldson interjecting—

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

Order! Senator Carr. Senator Ronaldson. Debating this across the chamber now does not assist question time at all. After three o'clock is the time to debate it. Senator Cormann is entitled to be heard in silence. Senator Cormann.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The voice of Pyongyang clearly doesn't understand about the free market! They are good at interjecting even though they do not know how to ask a question. We are making sure that universities are able to compete by deregulating fees. Some fees might go up, but a lot of fees will go down, and there will be more opportunity for students across Australia, who are able to borrow 100 per cent of the costs from the taxpayer.

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, Australians of our vintage have been fortunate enough to grow up with the security of a decent social safety net, access to free universities, universal health care and affordable housing.

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Order! Some common decency has got to be given to the person asking the question. Senator Di Natale is asking the question.

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Are we resetting the clock?

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

No, continue. I will give you ample opportunity to ask your question.

Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, given that our vintage has been fortunate enough to grow up with a decent social safety net, free education and universal health care, doesn't that actually make each of us here in this chamber a generation of leaners rather than lifters?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would ask the Senator to have a close look at our budget papers. What he will see in the budget papers is that the spending growth trajectory that we inherited from the Labor Party is unsustainable. This generation right now is living beyond its means. This generation right now is forcing future generations to fund our cost of living. This generation, as a result of the waste and the mismanagement of the Labor Party, is forcing our children and grandchildren to pay the price for our entitlements—with interest. What we want to do is replace the old age of entitlement with a new age of opportunity where everybody has the opportunity to get ahead. That is what I am here about, that is what every one of my colleagues is here about and that is what we will achieve in government.

David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is also to Senator Cormann, the Minister for Finance and the Minister representing the Treasurer.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why did you lie, Mathias?

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Order! I have called Senator Bushby.

David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Cormann, the Minister for Finance and the Minister representing the Treasurer. Can the minister explain how the budget delivered last night will build and strengthen our economy and start to repair the budget?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last night the government delivered a budget which is honest—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

which is fair, which delivers on our commitments, which builds a stronger, more prosperous economy, a more resilient economy—

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Senator Cormann, resume your seat. Order! When there is order, we will proceed. Senator Cormann, continue.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much. It is very important that I say that again. Last night the government delivered a budget which was honest, which was fair; which delivered on the commitments we took to the last election; which is building a stronger, more prosperous, more resilient economy where everyone can get ahead; and which starts to repair the budget mess that we inherited from our predecessors. In last night's budget we put a stop to Labor's unsustainable spending growth trajectory because that is the right thing to do in the national interest. The Labor Party never really fessed up to this before the election, but guess what. When you look at the fine print, when you look at the report that came out by the Commission of Audit—

Opposition senators interjecting—

do you know where the spending growth trajectory was going under Labor? It was going to 26.5 per cent as a share of GDP.

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

Order! Senator Cormann, just resume your seat, again. When there is silence, Senator Cormann, I will ask you to proceed. You are entitled to be heard in silence. Senator Cormann, continue.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr President. We always have to remind ourselves that the Labor Party, in 2007, inherited a strong economy and a strong budget with no government net debt, a $20 billion surplus and money in the bank. The government was collecting more than $1 billion a year in net interest payments. We are now having to pay $12 billion just for the interest on the debt that Labor has accumulated. We inherited $191 billion of deficits in Labor's first five budgets, another $123 billion in the projected deficits in Labor's last budget, and debt is heading for $676 billion without corrective action. The good news is that this government is turning the situation around. We are reducing the deficits before going back into surplus and we are paying off and reducing Labor's debt. (Time expired)

David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister explain to the Senate why all Australians should contribute to the budget repair job?

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Order! I will give Senator Cormann the call when there is silence. Senator Cormann.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr President. In last night's budget we did ask the Australian people to contribute. We did ask the Australian people to help us build a stronger economy. We did ask the Australian people to help us repair the budget mess that we have inherited. It is not a budget mess of our making but a budget mess that we will take full responsibility to repair, and we do ask that the Australian people help us. We know that people will not be excited about some of the measures in this budget. We do know that some people will find it difficult to make their contribution. We do ask people across Australia to accept that what we are doing, what we are putting on the table, in this budget is something that we are doing in the national interest. It is something that we are doing to strengthen our country. It is something that we are doing for the right reasons, because we have no choice. The spending growth trajectory that Labor recklessly and irresponsibly put our country on is not sustainable. There is no alternative to the job that we are doing. (Time expired)

David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister inform the Senate why it is so important to get our budget back on track?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is so important to get our budget back on track because we do not want to leave our country in a weaker position than we found it. We do not want to leave our children in a situation where they have less opportunity than we had, because this generation has spent beyond its means, because this generation was governed by a government over the last six years which did not know how to manage money. An ongoing deficit of $191 billion in their first five budgets and another $123 billion of projected deficits are reckless and irresponsible. We want to build future opportunity. We want to build a strong Australia. We are asking people to join us and to contribute. We are all in this together. It is so important that we get this right, because we do not want to be the generation that our children and grandchildren point to and say, 'What did you do to our country? You inherited a strong country from your predecessors. What did you do to keep it going?' (Time expired)