Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to talk on this MPI. We know that this budget is about a number of things—one of which is about tackling Labor's debt and deficit problem which they left Australians. It is about ensuring the welfare, in this country, is sustainable for the long term, well into the future. And, of course, it is about building the infrastructure of the 21st century—infrastructure that will create jobs and infrastructure that will get businesses moving throughout this country. I must say that in my electorate of Petrie there has been a lot of investment in infrastructure—$108 million in this year's budget alone for the Moreton Bay Rail Link, which has hundreds of people employed on it right now. And I must say that we have the Bruce Highway being upgraded—every intersection between Pine Rivers and the member for Fisher's electorate is being upgraded. We have the Gateway Motorway being upgraded, as well—and that is more fantastic news.

The Labor Party says that we are not listening. Well, I must say that every coalition member here is out listening on a regular basis. Wouldn't you agree? We are out listening at the coffee shops; we are out in the pubs listening to local people there; we are down at the schools. We have been at the local community groups over the last five weeks throughout our electorates; we have been at the sporting clubs. We have been out doing mobile offices, and doing listening posts throughout our electorates. One of the great things that we, on both sides of the chamber, get to do is to go to local citizenship ceremonies and see the many people who want to become citizens of this country and to welcome them into this country. Another great thing that we get to do as members is to read what the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection says, and he says that the Australian story is one of courage, mateship, endurance and sacrifice. This is the legacy that our predecessors have left us.

I say today: what has the Labor Party left us? They have left us record debt and deficit. I say to every person who works in Australia who is paying income tax, to the members of the gallery up here, to the clerks here, to the attendants, to the lady doing the Hansard, to the MPs here—and all of us pay income tax every single year—and I say to the Australian companies who are paying company tax: ladies and gentlemen, and Mr Deputy Speaker Scott, what happens is that the first billion dollars that we receive every month through income tax and company tax goes out the back door to pay for Labor's debt and deficit disaster, to pay foreign banks in Europe the interest that Labor left this nation.

And who have we heard from in this discussion? We have heard from the opposition leader, and from the members for McMahon and Lingiari and Wakefield—all members of the previous two Labor governments that blew the $50 billion surplus left by the Howard government into billions of dollars of interest every month.

I say to the children up in the gallery today, who will one day be paying income tax: Labor left you $1 billion a month in interest repayments so that one day, when you were working, you would have had to repay that as well. But, no; this government is tackling that on your behalf.

The members opposite, those three in the front row, were all members of the Rudd government and then the Gillard government. What did the previous Rudd government say? Rudd said, 'I'm an economic conservative.' He said, 'I'm another John Howard.' Well, he did not even last three years; they did not even trust him enough to leave him in for one single term. I do not know who in the front row was responsible for that, but it was an absolute disgrace. He was no John Howard. He left six record deficits that we are now paying for. And not one Labor member has got up to talk about budget savings, because we know that, one day, when the Labor Party get back into government and are responsible for the $400 billion a year that we spend, they will continue to run deficits. You will continue to leave the children of this nation with huge interest bills. You know what? We would be happy if you could just spend less than you earn. Is that too much to ask? One day, when you are back in office, spend less than you earn.

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