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

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Evans. Is the minister aware that, since the Labor government was elected four years ago today, electricity prices have risen by 60 per cent, gas prices have risen by 36 per cent, water and sewerage rates have risen by 58 per cent, education costs have risen by 24 per cent, the cost of fruit and vegetables has increased by 33 per cent and the overall cost of food and groceries has increased by 15 per cent? Will the minister now concede that his government has comprehensively failed to take the cost-of-living pressures off Australia's working families?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Brandis for the question. He just read out a list of cost increases imposed by state governments and asked me to take responsibility. I do not know whether the electricity prices he quotes are from the Western Australian Liberal government, the Victorian Liberal government or the New South Wales Liberal government. It is a ridiculous proposition for Senator Brandis to speak in that way. Western Australians know that, since the election of the Liberal government in Western Australia, their electricity prices have gone through the roof. Even the Premier, Mr Barnett, does not blame the federal Labor government for that. He blames his predecessors, he blames virtually everybody else, but even he does not blame us. Even he does not say, 'Electricity prices are a Commonwealth responsibility.' Senator Brandis, I am not sure how desperate the tactics committee got this morning. I think when you lead with Senator Joyce, you have clearly got pretty desperate. But, to be honest, to come into the chamber and say, 'It is four years and the world is ending,' is a complete nonsense.

This government has delivered a strong economy and a record number of jobs that have allowed Australians to come through the global financial crisis in very good shape. We are the envy of most other countries in the world. While doing that we have also provided tax cuts for middle-income families, we have increased the childcare tax rebate, we have delivered a paid parental leave scheme and we have made continuous improvements in the social conditions in this country, in addition to running a strong economy, a job-creating economy. We have also prepared for the future, with reforms like the MRRT, the NBN and the climate change legislation, which will serve this country well. (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Given the Labor government's comprehensive failure to deal with the cost of living, its countless broken promises, wasteful spending, economic mismanagement, failure to protect our borders and incompetence, is this the fourth anniversary that no-one wants to have because costs will keep going up, boats will keep on coming and this Labor government will just keep going from bad to worse?

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think Senator Brandis really summed up the opposition's year, not the government's year. It summed up their year. At the end of the year, what have they got to say about the future of Australia? Nothing—negativity, an ability to say no to everything, no vision. It is just no, no, no—negative, negative, negative. They have nothing to contribute. At the end of the year, what do they say? What is their policy alternative? 'We will stop building the NBN. We will give the money back to—

Bill Heffernan (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, do we have to have such boofhead yelling?

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

Senator, there is no point of order, but it might help if we have a bit of quiet on both sides of the chamber. The minister.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not offended in the least. We have a situation now where the Liberal-National coalition are in the position where they will argue to the Australian people that they will take back their superannuation and they will take back the tax cuts to small business and they will give them to Rio Tinto and BHP because of their seriously needy position. That is where they have ended the year. (Time expired)