Mr ABBOTT (Minister for Health and Ageing) (3:29 PM) —The Leader of the Opposition’s MPI is about the alleged squandered opportunities of the government’s 10 years in office. I intend to talk about the squandered opportunities of the Labor Party’s 10 years in opposition, and let me begin by saying that the Leader of the Opposition did at times in his ministerial career have a reputation as a decent human being and as a competent politician. But he is rapidly losing that and is rapidly squandering any public standing that he has. While he rails endlessly about alleged problems over which he has no responsibility, he singularly fails to fix the problems for which he does have responsibility. This is a man who talks endlessly about probity in government but is singularly incapable of establishing probity in opposition.

We know that very much today because, while he was speaking on this MPI, there were three significant absences. There was the absence of the shadow minister for overseas aid and Pacific island affairs, who has just lost his preselection and shows his contempt for the leader who did not protect him by absenting himself. Then there is the shadow minister for agriculture and fisheries, and the member for Hotham, both of whose preselections are under attack from the faceless branch stackers of the Victorian Labor Party thanks to the spineless, supine behaviour of the Leader of the Opposition. They are shoring up their preselections as best they can rather than supporting the Leader of the Opposition in this MPI.

Let me just make this point: every single question in parliament this year has been about the alleged wrongs of the Australian Wheat Board, AWB Ltd. This is a significant issue—there is no doubt about that—but out there in the cities, towns and country areas of Australia, is this the only thing on people’s minds? No, it is not. It is the only thing on the Leader of the Opposition’s mind, because a scandal a day keeps his own problems away. The longer that he can keep fulminating about AWB, the more he can avoid dealing with the problems that he really should be tackling.

Of course people are interested in corporate and institutional honesty. They want their officials to behave properly, but they know that all of this matter is now before the Cole inquiry and they trust Justice Cole to come up with the answers to this issue much more than they trust a self-interested and fulminating Leader of the Opposition. I simply put it, through you, Mr Deputy Speaker, to the House: does anyone really think that a government which thought so ill of the regime of Saddam Hussein that it committed the troops of the Commonwealth of Australia to invade that country would have tolerated for a second the bribing of that regime, had it known about it?

This MPI alleges squandered opportunities of the government’s 10 years in office. We have made our mistakes, I am sure. We have not got everything right—of course. We are only human. But net government debt in 1996 was almost $100 billion. It is now negative $1.3 billion. Average mortgage rates under the former government were 12.75 per cent; under this government, 7.15 per cent. There were 8.3 million Australians in work in March 1996; there were 10 million Australians in work in December last year. That is 1.7 million new jobs. The unemployment rate in March 1996 was 8.2 per cent. It is 5.1 per cent now. Average inflation: 5.2 per cent under the former Labor government, just 2.4 per cent under this government.

In 1995 the Australian standard of living ranked 13th in the OECD; last year we ranked eighth in the OECD. Real wages growth under the term of members opposite was 0.3 per cent. Under this government it has been 15.5 per cent. Total household wealth was $2,048 billion in March 1996 and $4,553 billion in December last year. It has more than doubled. I could go on and on about the comparative performance of this government and the former Labor government. I think it is pretty obvious that whatever mistakes we have made, whatever sins of omission there may have been, this has been a government which has taken its responsibilities seriously and which has delivered a better life to the overwhelming majority of the people of Australia.

Let us talk about squandered opportunities. I can make all sorts of criticisms about the Australian Labor Party and my criticisms will be discounted because I would say that, wouldn’t I? But someone who cannot be discounted, someone whose criticisms have to be taken seriously, is the member for Batman, Mr Martin Ferguson, who said of his own party in yesterday’s Australian:

So where are the declining standards of integrity? Where is the lack of accountability? Where are the squandered opportunities of the last 10 years? According to an opposition frontbencher, the member for Batman, they lie on that side of the parliament. We have seen a lot of huffing and puffing from the Leader of the Opposition against the government. If he were serious, if he were a man of strength, what he should be doing is lifting a finger to protect his own colleagues whose preselections are currently under threat.

Mr Price interjecting—

Mr ABBOTT —I quote the member for Hotham: ‘I have been the victim of people breaking their word—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Barresi)—Order! Member for Chifley, the minister is entitled to be heard in silence.

Mr ABBOTT —people not approaching this with integrity.’

Mr Price —Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Leader of the House is talking about preselections—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —There is no point of order.

Mr ABBOTT —‘I am fighting this preselection as much as anything to uphold those values of integrity, honesty, upholding your word, because they are values that are important to society.’ We have the Leader of the Opposition here talking about declining standards of integrity and alleging that this is somehow the work of the Howard government, when he has his former friend—a frontbencher, the member for Hotham, a former party leader—saying that the lack of honesty and integrity is inside the Australian Labor Party itself. We have another Labor Party parliamentary secretary, the member for Lingiari, saying today—apropos of the declining standards of integrity that are the subject of this MPI—that we have standover merchants, thugs and sleazebags—

Ms Gillard —Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. This matter of public importance is about the standards and squandered opportunities of the Howard government. If the Leader of the House has lost the ability to put the case for the Howard government—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —There is no point of order.

Mr ABBOTT —I know the member for Lalor is bitterly disappointed at what is happening to the member for Hotham because she thought the member for Hotham would be her principal lieutenant in the leadership bid which will be occurring soon. That is what this Australian Story that she has been focusing on for the last couple of weeks is all about. Normally, we get one doorstop and one press release a day from the member for Lalor—

Mr Rudd —Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. As the occupier of the chair, you are responsible for interpreting whether or not a speaker at this dispatch box is addressing their remarks in a manner relevant to the title of the matter of public importance, which reads—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —There is no point of order. Matters of public importance discussions are free ranging. I also remind members of the opposition that the Leader of the Opposition was heard in silence, uninterrupted, and I expect the same courtesy to be given to all speakers during this MPI.

Mr Price —Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. If you are not going to interpret the standing orders, I draw your attention to the state of the House.

The bells being rung—

Mr Rudd —Mr Deputy Speaker, your rulings from the chair have been absolutely disgraceful and you know it.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —Order!

Mr Rudd —Minister, you stand here and you make a racist remark from that dispatch box and you think you can lecture others on the subject. Go bag your head. You made a racist remark from the dispatch box.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER —Order! I remind members that disorderly behaviour will not be tolerated during the ringing of the bells.

(Quorum formed)

Mr ABBOTT —In this MPI, the opposition allege declining standards of integrity in the government, but they practise declining standards of integrity in their own party. The member for Lingiari, in talking about what was going on inside his own party, referred to standover merchants, thugs and other sleazebags undermining the good name of the Australian Labor Party, hard won over 100 years. He is not just talking about 10 years being squandered; he is talking about 100 years because of the thugs, sleazebags and standover merchants now attacking the preselections of decent frontbenchers in the Australian Labor Party. It was interesting to read in that same article which quoted the member for Lingiari: ‘Mr Beazley justified comments he made a year ago that Mr Crean should not be nudged from his seat of Hotham, saying he had made the statement while there was no preselection under way.’ What a great sort of person he is. He gives you support when you do not need it and, when you do need it, it is just not there. And now this pathetic weathervane—this sanctimonious windbag—is putting himself up as the alternative Prime Minister of Australia. (Time expired).