Miss JACKIE KELLY —I have children from the Cambridge Gardens Public School with me today. My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. In tonight's budget will the government focus on important matters in my electorate of Lindsay, which are important to those children living there, such as small business, families and youth? What are the economic imperatives driving the government's budget strategy?

Opposition members interjecting—

Mr SPEAKER —Order! Members on my left! I will not tolerate this continuing level of interjection.

Mr HOWARD —I don't think the Leader of the Opposition would have impressed any of your constituents with what he had to say a few moments ago. It was a disingenuous attempt to lecture the Speaker about arrangements for the House—talk about a pathetic performance.

The member for Lindsay—and long may you continue to represent the electorate of Lindsay—can inform her constituents that tonight's budget will go very much to the needs and concerns of the mainstream families of western Sydney because tonight's budget will deliver in full on the $4 billion family tax package over a period of four years. It will deliver on the private health insurance commitment. It will deliver far more effective and targeted programs to tackle the problem of youth unemployment. Most importantly, through the fiscal restoration that the budget will achieve, it will lay the foundation in the medium term for further reductions in interest rates.

You ought to say to the people of Lindsay that since the coalition government has been in office average housing loan interest rates have declined by $80 a month. The opposition may laugh, but the fact is that since we have been in power they have declined by $80 a month. If you want to add up the benefits of the decline in housing interest rates, the benefits of the family tax package and the benefits of the health insurance rebate, you will find that there are enormous family benefits for the people of Lindsay. If it should transpire that the people of Lindsay have the opportunity of again deciding whom their representative will be, those will be four reasons why they will overwhelmingly return their current member, Miss Jackie Kelly.