Senator HILL (Leader of the Opposition) (8.00 p.m.) —Mr President, this must rate as Labor's worst budget in its decade in office. With nearly one million Australians out of work and something like 30 per cent of young Australians looking for work, no hope can be found for them within this document at all. What a depressing effort. But of course it is the product of Labor's election lie. It was a successful lie in terms that it brought home the bacon, the only bacon that Labor was really interested in.

  Labor conned the Australian people. It said it could offer them tax cuts without expenditure cuts and bring down the deficit as well. It knew it could not do so. Labor did not really believe the lie would work, but unfortunately it did. Now it has to fashion a budget so as to cover as much of that lie as possible. So part of the tax cuts have been brought forward and the balance has in fact been abandoned, and to hold the deficit in the absence of any real expenditure cuts, there has to be a massive hike in existing taxes.

  But I do not think anyone realised that Labor would strike at the lower income earners in the way that it did. No-one realised that the reward to the true believers would be the sort of slap in the face that they have received in this budget.

  Labor gave us the recession. Let us never forget that it was the Prime Minister (Mr Keating) who said that this was the recession we had to have. It was a recession brought about through unnecessary high interest rates. For month after month we said to Labor that the effect of these ridiculously high interest rates was to crush Australian business, including efficient business. But Labor would not learn; an arrogant Prime Minister would not listen. The result was massive unemployment.

  Australia led the world into recession. It might be that world conditions have made it more difficult for it to come out of recession, but it was not a world recession that drew Australia in; it was Australia that unnecessarily went into recession. An arrogant and out of touch Mr Keating saw the punishment of the recession as necessary in the national interest. Of course he had said earlier that it would not happen, but what is a little more deceit on what we have learnt since? And now in the wash-out of the recession we had to have, we have this pathetic contribution to the charge of encouraging economic growth and jobs.

  What it demonstrates, apart from the lies, is a government waiting for the world to change before instigating real and creative change of its own. It, in truth, represents a government bereft of ideas, imagination and sadly hell-bent on being the punisher and straightener. Its rhetoric speaks of internationalisation of the Australian economy with the Asian area, but it does not provide the structural change at the pace of the competitive change that is occurring within our region.

  Labor tells us we must be internationally more competitive while at the same time imposing the home-grown obstacles on our exporting industries—obstacles that we saw in this budget. I refer to an increase in indirect tax, fuel taxes and other business taxes—increases that can only have the effect of making Australian business on international markets less competitive, not more competitive. Labor boasts about taxation levels lower than Europe without acknowledging the levels of our regional competitors; those where the greatest market opportunities lie are in fact much lower.

  It is an astonishingly confused document. It makes no sense. It offers some tax cuts to families, the working men and women of Australia, but takes them back in higher charges for food and clothing. It offers mothers assistance with child care, but takes this back in higher charges for driving their children to creches or to baby sitters. It offers the long term unemployed $3 a week more, more training schemes, another committee but no jobs.

  It offers non-card holding pensioners dental care but takes away their free optometrist visits. It offers farmers an increase in the rural adjustment scheme, but increases the wool tax from 8.5 to 12 per cent. It offers men 55 and over concessional rates of taxation on their long service leave and retirement pay should they be retrenched, but says women should work until they are 65. In short, it offers no vision, no cohesive approach to overcoming our problems, and no hope for a better Australia for our children or our children's children.

  As we emerge from the depression, we are told we that are in recovery. We have an unemployment rate of 10.75 per cent; a CPI forecast of 3.5 per cent; a deficit of $16 billion—$1.4 billion more than in this past year. This is what Labor calls recovery. But because it is recovery, according to Labor, the poor can be taxed more, devastated industry such as the wool industry can be taxed more, and emerging industry—the new hopes such as the wine industry on the world market—can be particularly slugged. It makes no sense at all. If one is going bad one gets taxed more; if one is going well one gets taxed more; if one offers hope and jobs apparently one gets taxed more. In fact, overall tax revenue is to rise in terms of the vision of this budget by some $32.2 billion compared with a rise of only $5.4 billion in the last four years. It makes no sense, Mr President.

  These additional taxes equal over $5,000 for each household and $4,200 for each working Australian. It is almost as if Mr Keating wants to punish the recovery. And this from a government that poses as the representatives of the true believers; this from a government that claims it is the legitimate party of social justice.

  The irony of this budget is that even the true believers have turned against Mr Keating and his comrades. Martin Ferguson, for example, could not defend the indefensible. He would not even take a punt on John Dawkins being returned in a double dissolution. Merle Mitchell expressed extreme disappointment in the `lack of action to bring down unemployment and a failure to implement recommendations on national savings'—a fair comment, one might think.

  Employment was to be the cornerstone of this budget. Mr Dawkins began his speech with a promise that the budget's main theme is about the creation and maintenance of jobs. Yet all he delivers is another committee to report some time in the future. The answers are known; it is the action which is needed. How does increased tax help reduce unemployment? This budget makes a mockery of Mr Keating's campaign plea—do you remember it, Mr President?—to be given another chance to reduce the unemployment rate. It reveals how arrogant he still is.

  Where is the promise to create 500,000 jobs over the next three years? Mr President, do you remember that promise? How is this budget going to help create 500,000 jobs over the next three years? Where is the proof that the worst is over? This Prime Minister has the hide to refer to the unemployed as being `neutralised'. Do you remember that, Mr President? In his famous pre-election night speech, in a Sydney Chinese restaurant, he said the government had succeeded in neutralising the unemployed? This callous disregard for the most disadvantaged and unfortunate in our community reeks of the `Let them eat cake' syndrome.

  If this was to be a budget to reduce unemployment we would see encouragement for savings and investment. The Treasurer said, `The way to reduce unemployment is through the expansion and development of Australian industry on a truly world competitive basis'. That is correct. But how does this budget help to achieve that goal? Where is the encouragement to invest? How will increasing taxes and inflation encourage investment? Encouragement is not there. Add to that the uncertainty of Mabo where, instead of building a consensus with state leaders, Mr Keating sought to dictate to the level of government responsible for land tenure. The outcome is a national disaster.  But this was typical of his style, a style with which we are so familiar.

Senator Schacht —You support Richard Court, do you?

Senator HILL —No, what I am saying is that Keating as a national leader had a responsibility to draw Australia together and define a formula but he went to Melbourne to dictate an outcome with total disregard for the views of that level of government which has primary responsibility for land tenure in this country. He is arrogant; he always knows better. He has sought to do it again. He could have drawn them together, but that is not his style. The result is a national disaster.

  Senator Schacht interjecting—

The PRESIDENT —Order!

Senator HILL —Senator Schacht might remember this, Mr President. Do honourable senators remember another election promise—the avalanche of investment projects that were awaiting? We were promised $130 billion in total, waiting to start as soon as this election was over. Where has that investment gone? What has happened to that investment? What is the incentive in this budget to that investment? Investors will not invest now because of Mabo and the way the government has treated them. It is a hopeless effort. Senator Schacht ought to be ashamed of this budget as well.

Senator Schacht —You just can't get over losing.

The PRESIDENT —Order!

Senator HILL —If your best contribution is what you have done with the CSIRO so far, then you have a long way to go.

The PRESIDENT —Order! There are too many interjections.

Senator HILL —Perhaps the greatest failure, however, was the unwillingness of this government to address expenditure. Gareth's gazebo will be a monument to fiscal irresponsibility. How can Mr Keating say that he cannot cut outlays any further because it would be irresponsible, indecent and unfair when this government, with a flick of the pen, can find $200 million to build a headquarters for DFAT because the existing building needed some renovation? We lost at the last election, it is true, but at least we were honest. We did not go to the people and lie our way into office.

Senator Schacht —Ha, ha!

Senator HILL —Senator Schacht thinks that that is amusing. We hear a continuation of the laugh. It is not a laugh at us; it is a laugh at the Australian people. Government members con the Australian people and they laugh at them. They tax the poorest of them and they laugh at them. That is their contribution to national development.

  Senator Schacht interjecting—

The PRESIDENT —Order! Senator Schacht, cease interjecting.

Senator HILL —We are not embarrassed to say that we told it as it was. We demonstrated how it would be possible to restructure the Australian economy by providing the incentive of fully funded tax cuts, incentives for saving investment and the prospect of real and sustainable growth. And that means jobs. We demonstrated how it could be done.

  This could have been an exciting budget, a budget of change and of hope. But it was not to be. One would have hoped, however, that Labor, having been fraudulently returned to government, at least now would show some honesty and courage. But we have not seen it in this budget and we have not seen it since, as was demonstrated by Senator Evans today. Would he face up to the lie? No. He talked his way through it. He was not prepared to acknowledge the fault, he was not prepared to offer leadership and courage at a time when this nation particularly needed it.

Senator Michael Baume —I take a point of order, Mr President. You have twice called the minister to order. He persists in ignoring your requirement that he cease interjecting. When do you intend to take action against him?

Senator Schacht —On a point of order, Mr President: I am responding to the consistently provocative remarks in the speech by the Leader of the Opposition, who consistently accuses this government and its members of dishonesty, fraud and in similar terms. He expects there to be no response. Of course he is going to get a response.

The PRESIDENT —Order! There was a fair amount of interjection the other night when the budget was presented. But I would ask both sides of the chamber to please desist from interjecting.

Senator HILL —In the other place Dr Hewson addressed how we would approach the tax bills contained in this budget. We really want to have a go at keeping the government to its tax promises. We believe that we owe it to the just under 50 per cent of Australian voters who supported us and our plan. We believe we also owe it to others who were misled by Labor. In this chamber we will be called spoilers, disrupters and worse. But we do not operate that way. We are quite entitled to vote against Labor's tax bills. We are quite entitled to send requests and urge the House of Representatives to amend tax bills. Labor did not ever hesitate to do so when it was in opposition.

  As far as the coalition is concerned, this chamber will not be treated as a rubber stamp. We will act here as we think is in the best interests of the Australian people. There is no way we will bend to the threats or personal abuse of Mr Keating or his apprentices such as Senator Evans. We hope the Australian Democrats and the Greens will show the same courage. If they do, Mr Keating will learn finally that the executive is, in fact, responsible to the parliament and this Labor government will be less likely to lie at the next election.

  This is not a good time for Australia. Ordinary Australians, who are so reliant upon government, deserve better government. We hope it will not be too long before they get what they deserve.