Mr RICHARD EVANS (9:15 PM) —I have been listening to the opposition members speaking in this debate as it has been developing and one of the things that they have not come to terms with is that we are back in the black, back on track. In 1996, the Australian people were asked to place their faith in the coalition—they were tired of 13 years of Labor running the country to ruin, they were tired of broken promises, they were tired of increasing taxes, they were tired of increasing deficits and they were tired of increasing debt. The Australian people asked the coalition to come in and fix the problems that were growing: we were asked to fix the debt, we were asked to fix the overrunning of budgets, we were asked to fix the poor money management and we were asked to give some hope for the future. True to our word, the coalition has returned financial responsibility back to the community within our first three years in government. We are now back in the black, back on track.

I add one rider: we have much more to do and it is not time to rest on our laurels. Nor is it time to hand our administration back to the Labor Party, which has proved over many years in many governments, both state and federal, that they cannot handle money, they cannot handle the Treasury. We cannot put the Labor Party back in charge of Treasury for a long, long time because, under the Labor Party, Australia suffered the worst recession in 60 years. Under Labor, interest went up nearly 3 per cent between August and December 1994, mortgage interest rates went up to 17 per cent, mortgage repayments of the people of Cowan increased by nearly 50 per cent, 27 per cent of median family income was needed to meet monthly mortgage repayments and one million Australians lost their jobs, with unemployment peaking at 11.2 per cent. Wholesale sales tax increased, petrol excise increased, tobacco excise increased, and FBT, Medicare, motor vehicle and company tax were all increased when in fact the Labor Party said there would be no increases under their administration. In the 13 years of Labor governments, Labor was responsible for 10 deficits—averaging $12.2 billion.

The people of Cowan have worked hard to establish themselves. They do not want to see their hard earned money being wasted through the Labor Party's tax system which we currently have. Recently I surveyed the Cowan electorate and asked them whether they wanted tax reform. The overwhelming response was, yes, they do. They do want tax reform. They want the coalition to reform the tax system. Unlike the Labor Party, which wants its own system to remain—and they have got their spokespeople out there saying that they do not want to change—the people of Cowan have said the current Labor tax system is unfair and needs reform. I assure the people of Cowan that I have been working for them to ensure they have a fair tax system—fair to them, fair to their families, fair to those in the community who need our help and fair to all Australians.

Who could ever forget the Labor Party's promise during the 1993 election of not increasing taxes? I certainly cannot and the people of Cowan probably will not either. Labor promised not to increase taxes, but they did the exact opposite. They said they would not increase taxes on flavoured milk, on fruit juice, on nappies, on cosmetics, but when they got back in, in their first budget, they increased taxes on many of the products which the families of Cowan would use on a daily basis. When it comes to tax, the Labor Party cannot be believed. When it comes to tax, the Labor Party breaks its promises—as we have learned. When it comes to families, particularly Cowan families, the Labor Party has a history of not caring.

The Cowan community wanted me to represent them in government on issues which affected their children and the Howard government has responded. The Howard government has developed a national drugs strategy. The government now has in place a `be tough on drugs' program within our schools, directing funds to help educate our kids on positive drug outcomes.

But it does not stop there. The Howard government has a new approach to young Australians. When Labor forgot about our younger generation, the coalition did not. Our attitude is one of providing hope and opportunity for their futures. In Australia we now have more apprenticeship opportunities for young people. We now have more kids in training than when the Labor Party was in government. We now have opportunities for our young. In Cowan we are seeing evidence of these programs providing a future and hope for the next generation.

The Howard government has also focused on improving education. The Howard government is spending more money on education than was ever spent under Labor. The electors of Cowan wanted us to treat education as a priority, and we listened. Education is our priority: we have focused on literacy and numeracy, we have invested more into our teachers and we are bringing enterprise into the school system to help our kids take a vital role in their community.

The Cowan electorate asked me to focus on the environment and represent them in this place on that issue. They wanted me to treat the environment as a priority, and I have. The Howard government has proven its desire to improve environmental policy within Australia. The coalition has increased spending on environmental issues by 37 per cent more than the Labor Party spent when they were in power. We have focused on reducing greenhouse gases; this year is the first year of our strategy, and we will in fact do that.

The people of Cowan are concerned about health and want to have a system which is accessible and fair to all Australians. It is interesting to note that the Labor Party's spokesperson in Cowan wants to see the private health system come to a close. He was quoted recently on radio as saying he does not support the privatisation of health. This means he does not support the redevelopment of the Hollywood Hospital, a veterans hospital in Perth. As a veteran and Vice President of the RSL, it is strange for him to criticise the privatisation of the veterans hospital, which by all accounts is the benchmark for other hospitals to follow.

The Labor spokesperson is also publicly quoted as wanting to have the hospital system returned to what it was like when he was young. When he was young, there was no Medicare, so what he is saying is he does not want Medicare in the current political environment—which is confusing because he does not want privatisation of health, but he does not want Medicare.

So where does the Labor spokesperson in Cowan stand on health issues? Does he support the current system or not? Does he support private health or not? Perhaps the faceless men of the Labor Party who put him there in the first place should get him to toe the party line. The Labor Party in Cowan dropped in a party man to represent them rather than have a woman as had happened for many years. In fact, there was a big brawl last year about the women of Cowan when the men of the Labor Party overtook the women and put their man in. This spokesperson for them says one thing and means another. He is just like the Labor Party: how could we ever believe them again?

The Howard government made a promise to the people of Cowan that would ensure that Medicare remained in its entirety. And I am pleased to advise the people of Cowan that I have been working for them, and we now have a health system which has Medicare maintained in its entirety, as promised. But the Howard government have even gone further. Rather than attack those who want the choice of private health—as the Labor spokesperson in Cowan has done—the Howard government provides rewards and incentives to those who take out private health cover. More families now benefit through the health programs put in place by the Howard government.

The electors of Cowan asked me to work with them to help older Australians—and I have. The government now provides increased support to our World War II veterans, with the introduction of the gold card. Self-funded retirees are now eligible for the health card. We now spend more than the Labor Party ever even thought about on aged care, with a total of $4 billion dollars now being spent.

The Labor Party are a party of the past. They have no ideas. They have spokespeople from the past. The Labor Party have limited ideas. They are a tax and spend party. The Labor Party take no responsibility for driving the Cowan taxpayers to their knees. The Labor Party do not care about the people of Cowan. They would rather scare than care. They peddle in untruths and distortions. The Labor Party say one thing and do another.

On the other hand, the people of Cowan want someone who stands up for them and works for their needs. They want representation rather than party politics. The people of Cowan want someone who has a record of getting things done. They want someone who is working for them. They sincerely want someone who is working for the seat of Cowan. Since I have had the privilege of representing Cowan since 1993—it is named after a great Australian—I have been working for the people of Cowan on issues like crime, the environment and education. I have been working for them on family issues, on issues affecting their children, on issues affecting the community.

I give them this commitment. Whilst I am your member in Canberra, whilst I stand up for your issues, I will always be working for you. There is much more to do, and I can assure the people of Cowan that I will be vigorously fighting for their interests over the next period.