Ms GAMBARO (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence) (11:06 AM) —I am very pleased to start by thanking the Governor-General for his introduction last year to the 41st Parliament and the Howard government's fourth term. Some time has passed since then and a lot has happened, including the terrible tsunami tragedy in South-East Asia on Boxing Day. I am proud to say that Australia has responded in an extraordinary way to that tragedy. Both as a nation and as a collective of individuals and businesses, we have led the world in our response, and we are helping the families of those who were killed and those left behind to rebuild their lives.

As the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, I would like to thank all the ADF personnel and their families, both those deployed and those supporting them from Australia, for their incredible efforts. It was trying work under very difficult circumstances. They are all doing a great job helping to restore services and treat the sick and injured as well as undertaking the terrible task of identifying the dead.

Before I go on, I would like to inform the House that I had the delight on 30 January of welcoming home 51 Australian Army personnel from the second contingent of the Australian Army Training Team Iraq. I was very proud to be there, with their families, to represent the Australian government, to thank them for their professional and selfless work as soldiers, for the duty they have done for Australia and for the services they have provided for the Iraqi Army, who are working at rebuilding their country after too many years under a brutal dictatorship. The soldiers arrived home after a five-month rotation to Northern Iraq, and I had the great pleasure of presenting each of them with an Australian Active Service Medal.

The training team was responsible for developing and implementing the training of 2,700 of Iraq's officers and soldiers. While it was a second contingent, some 6,000 Iraqi officers and soldiers have been put through some pretty amazing training. The training covered all areas of basic military skills, including drill, weapon handling, infantry tactics, navigation, leadership and teamwork. Training was also conducted in unit administration and logistics. This training occurred in what can only be described as very difficult, dangerous circumstances. Convoys of food, fuel and water were regularly attacked and I commend the soldiers of the Australian Defence Force for working in extremely testing circumstances.

I would like to use this address to congratulate my colleagues, members and senators from both sides of the House, on their election or re-election. It is always good to come back to the House. Elections are always hard work, no matter what side of politics you are on. It is hard work not only for candidates but also for the teams of people behind them. I know I speak on behalf of everyone when I thank the teams of supporters for the great work they did and particularly my team, which enables me to represent the fine electorate of Petrie.

In its fourth term, the Howard government is in a historic and unique position. We, led by Prime Minister John Howard, will work towards further strengthening Australia's economy and national security. In uncertain economic times, Australia has maintained a strong economy and created more jobs while recording real wage rises, falling unemployment, low inflation and low interest rates. Prime Minister Howard and the coalition have been given an overwhelming and rare mandate by the people of Australia to continue our work. With that mandate comes a responsibility. I know I speak for many of my colleagues when I say that we will treat that with great respect.

We are going to bring forward legislation about the commitments we have made to the Australian people during the election campaign. In my own electorate of Petrie, the people of the Brisbane northern suburbs and the Redcliffe Peninsula have told me that they respect the coalition for their strong commitment in areas of support for families, education, skills development, small business, health and supporting our nation. The people of my electorate also tell me that they respect a government with the faith in them to let them make their own decisions and their own choices. Families also tell me that they are grateful of the extra support introduced by the Howard government by way of a $300 annual payment and a $3,000 maternity payment to assist families with the cost of raising their children. Those very same families tell me that the election commitment to introduce a 30 per cent child-care tax rebate will make a huge difference to them in their everyday life. It will reduce out-of-pocket costs of child care, and more families in my electorate will be able to add that extra saving to their family budgets. Equally, the increase to the family tax benefit part B to $300 a year will also make a real difference to their lives. One mother I spoke to while doorknocking in the North Lakes area said that the benefits were definitely real, no matter what the now Shadow Treasurer had to say during the election campaign. That mother told me how she tangibly spent that money and was absolutely delighted that she had received it from the federal government.

Over 1.3 million Australians will benefit from the early delivery of the Howard government's almost $2 billion family tax benefit part B election commitment, and we have demonstrated that we are keen to give those additional benefits to families by announcing this election commitment and bringing it forward by six months to 1 January 2005. The six-month allowance will mean that families receiving the FTB part B will be eligible for cash bonuses of up to $150 from 1 July 2005 after they lodge their tax return. Every year thereafter, families will be eligible for a $300 annual increase after they lodge their tax return. Increasing this payment for stay-at-home mums and dads is just another example of how the Howard government is seeking to improve choices in allowing families to arrange their lives according to their personal circumstances. The fact that this commitment will be delivered as a lump sum will allow families to purchase items such as school uniforms—the time for which has just passed in terms of the school year having just started—replace household goods, pay for a special sporting activity and provide a boost to savings for their children's future.

People in my electorate have told me they wanted a government that had proven experience. I was first elected as the federal representative for the people of Petrie at the time the Howard government came to office, and we inherited the enormous economic mismanagement of the Hawke-Keating years. In March 1996 there was a national unemployment rate of nearly nine per cent, with rises in the early nineties to well over 11 per cent. How can a country function with more than one in 10 people out of work? At this time, unemployment in Petrie was more than nine per cent and, in December 2004, that national figure dropped to 5.1 per cent—a figure which represented the lowest long-term unemployment in 28 years and which showed another reason why the people of Australia entrusted the keys to the Treasury to the Howard government for another three years. In September of last year the unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 per cent in Petrie. This is testament to the efforts this government has put in to getting people back into work, particularly the long-term unemployed. Job creation is an important pillar of this government and is even stronger than it has ever been before. Australia's unemployment rate is at its lowest since November 1976. Seasonally adjusted figures increased by 44,500 in January to a record high of almost 9,868,200.

The Howard government has said that it will do more to reduce unemployment rates, and reforms of the Australian workplace relations system is one way this will be achieved. I can only hope that we can continue for the sake of the growth and prosperity of this great nation and that the opposition will support us in this wonderful objective. The workplace relations system will need reform and we will need assistance to help people break the cycle of welfare dependency, which we can do through our commitment to programs like the mature age worker tax offset.

We are making it much easier for businesses to employ the staff that they need and to grow their businesses without the fear that after this current commitment they could be bankrupt. There are 1.1 million small businesses in Australia contributing one-third of Australia's economic wealth, and about one half of these have been created since the Howard government came to power. We have to ensure that businesses are able to prosper and grow and that more new small businesses are encouraged to open their doors.

We are particularly interested in choice in education, and we will continue to fund schools in a manner which accurately represents the choices of Australia's parents. The Howard government will invest $1 billion from its surplus to restore and build Australia's school buildings and grounds. Of this $1 billion, $700 million will be spent on high-priority public school infrastructure. The remaining $300 million will be spent on high-priority infrastructure projects in developing Catholic and independent schools, schools for which many parents have made sacrifices to pay their children's fees and thus the ability of parents to fully fund desperately needed infrastructure is limited.

The Howard government will also ensure that parents are given more accurate and plain-English reporting on their children's progress by ensuring all report cards are written in plain English. I know that sounds pretty amazing, but I have had occasions in the past when I have had my children roll up with their school reports and I really could not understand where they came in terms of achievement and where they were benchmarked. I think that is a real concern. The Howard government will also continue our commitment to education through the development of 24 technical colleges around Australia. Australia has an incredible skills shortage and it is important that trade skills are valued in our community. I am really pleased that the Petrie and northern Brisbane area is going to be one of those areas where a college will be set up. It will be a real alternative to attending university.

The new technical colleges will offer both academic and vocational education for up to 7,200 students in years 11 and 12 while they are completing school. While each college will specialise in a particular trade, they will offer at least four trades in the fields of engineering, construction, electrical and commercial cookery. There is an increasing emphasis on re-skilling Australia's work force. We really do need to be aware of providing those opportunities for young people in regions such as north Brisbane and the Redcliffe Peninsula.

In the area of health care, my constituents will benefit from an increase in the Medicare rebate to 100 per cent of the scheduled fee. This reduces the cost and encourages more doctors to bulk-bill while also offering people the opportunity to choose the doctor of their choice. Veterans will also benefit from Howard government policy. Older Australians who are receiving an aged care pension will receive a supplement of $100 a year for singles and $50 a year for each member of a couple. The Howard government will provide a payment of $200 a year for self-funded retirees, paid twice a year. There are many self-funded retirees in my electorate and I understand through talking to them that they are happy with this initiative. They have been recognised as important contributors to our economy.

Older people in Petrie will benefit from increases to the private health insurance rebate from 30 to 35 per cent for people aged from 65 to 69 and to 40 per cent for people aged older 70. This offers seniors the security of knowing they can access medical care by a doctor or medical specialist of their choice. A resident of a TriCare facility in my electorate told me that it was these policies which reassured her about being able to maintain her access to health care and not the opposition's Medicare Gold policy that was being promoted at the time. Even a layperson can understand that Labor's Medicare Gold policy was not sustainable in the long term. I am glad to see that the opposition have decided that they are not going to continue with that. Families and young people were also concerned about Medicare Gold because they saw that the package was going to lead to the neglect of the rest of the community.

Funding for all of these areas is something that this government has been very committed to, and I am absolutely delighted to be part of the team that has been re-elected. We will ensure that we strengthen the growth and the opportunities for economic and social participation by investing in policies that will bring forward all of those groups and their particular goals in life. The coalition government have delivered for the people of Petrie in ensuring more have access to things like the internet. Residents of areas such as Mango Hill, which has a growing population, have told me that internet access is so important to them.

I have worked very hard on behalf of my constituents, and I would like to thank them for their great support in returning me to the House. I am very proud to be here again and I will continue to fight for their interests. I look forward to again being part of a government that is fulfilling our election promises and responding to the needs of the Australian community.