Senator MARGETTS (1:11 PM) —The appropriation bills that we are being asked to look at are: Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 1998-99 , moneys for ordinary annual services of the government; Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 1998-99 , moneys for non-recurrent expenditure; and Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill 1998-99 , money for departments. These bills, unfortunately, are another example of ignorant, ideological and misguided legislation reflecting ignorant, ideological and misguided policies of this government which this government is hell bent on pursuing. It is no wonder that the fervent and impassioned speech we have just heard is now belatedly necessary in this parliament when this government has been pursuing scapegoat politics through their policies.

This government is hell bent on pursuing economic rationalism at any cost, and then finding someone else to blame for the out comes. It is hell bent on believing that the famous hand of the market can deliver all the goodies we have ever wanted as a country. It is hell bent on applying competition policy ad nauseam to all aspects of society. The Nationals, who are now leaving the chamber I notice, themselves were concerned about competition policy but did not stand up against either the Labor Party or the coalition in administering it at all costs. This government is hell bent on the free trade agenda at any cost to our local industries and our unemployment levels. Behind these appropriation bills we see a government hell bent on achieving a surplus at any cost.

This government is not interested in looking at any real indications of the well-being of our society. They are happy to hide behind their nice bottom line and ignore the reality in our society: the sickening reality that the quality of health in Australia is spiralling down; the informed reality that education is moving towards a framework where universities are a business, students are customers and those students whose mummy and daddy can pay will get top notch education; the desperate reality that our unemployment rate is not getting better; the unjust reality that people who desperately need legal representation cannot afford it; and the intolerant reality that people are so disillusioned, frustrated and angry that they are looking for racist and selfish answers—the kind that we saw responded to today.

If the government decided to pull its head out of the sand, if the hypnotic effect of the budget surplus wore off, I would submit that unemployment levels are a good place to start in looking for real indications of Australia's well-being. With Japan, the United States, the Netherlands and Switzerland all on an unemployment rate of below five per cent, it is clear that there is a long way to go before Australia should receive pats on the back on the basis of this economic indicator.

The Queensland election drove home a crystal clear message. It is not that there are a heap of rednecks in Queensland who are anti-Aboriginal and anti-immigration—no. The crystal clear message is that the community is sick and tired of being ruled by testosterone-charged bottom liners. People are sick of being dictated to by economists who value a balanced budget more than they value quality health care, quality education and removing unemployment. In fact, unemployment at a highish level is desired by many large corporations investing in a country like Australia. They are downright sick of the government saying that economic rationalism and free trade are the only way to go, regardless of how it affects Mr and Ms Joe Citizen. Remember that exports are only about 20 per cent of Australia's economy. We have forgotten about our domestic economy.

The Australian community are crying out through the ballot box for the government to hear their concerns. They are crying out through the ballot box for the government to acknowledge that people in Australia are hurting, even though the media and the economists gave an almost unanimous pat on the back for bringing home a surplus. The people of Australia are not impressed by a surplus when they can see the real impacts on the ground. They can see that the dogged pursuit of the bottom line has destroyed communities and is still doing so. They have had enough of head-in-the-cloud economists ruling their lives. They have had enough of money markets in Europe and the United States running their lives. Australians are refusing to listen to the prevailing wisdom that anyone who disagrees with the government's economic orthodoxy is some kind of economic nobody, an illiterate economic lightweight. They have said, `Enough is enough.'

There is a vote from the people on the ground that this government's pursuit of a surplus at all costs has had devastating impacts from a social perspective. What has been less widely acknowledged is that the economic benefits of a budget in surplus are in fact highly dubious. The surplus, as an indication of economic wellbeing, has been beefed up beyond belief. Many other economic indicators are telling a very different story and they suggest that the Treasurer (Mr Costello) should be chastised and not congratulated.

The government's blase attitude to the ever-widening current account deficit is especially disturbing. Not only are they complacent about the fact that the current account deficit is ballooning, but they are trying to shove it under the carpet by saying, `Don't worry about the current account deficit. Our public sector finances are A-OK, so we can ride this wave.' Even Senator Cook, from the opposition, the other day was saying, `Look how many more exports we've got.' He forgot to mention that there are many more imports—more than we have exported. So in fact we are running faster and faster and not even staying in the same place.

This is the general smoke and mirrors approach that the coalition have taken to all the economic indicators that point to the fact that their approach to economics may not be as hot to trot as they claim. The Treasurer tried to talk up the Aussie dollar as it plunged to deeper and deeper levels, again saying, `But, hey, we produced a surplus. She'll be right, mate.' The biggest concern I have with the Treasurer's blase attitude towards the current account deficit is that his comments echo exceptionally problematic reasoning.

The coalition's attitudes and claims are based on the concept of the twin deficit theory. The twin deficit theory is based on a link between budget deficits and surpluses and the current account deficit or surplus. The reliance on the twin deficit theory is evident in statements in budget paper No. 1 of 1998-99, which states:

. . . the ongoing improvement in public sector finances should exert a downward pressure on the current account deficit.

The idea of the twin deficit theory has never been borne out in practice, however. Indeed, it is clear that the twin deficit theory is a fallacy when you consider that, firstly, across all countries the current account deficit must sum to zero and, secondly, in contrast, government deficits across all countries can take on a large range of values. The twin deficit fallacy is overwhelmingly illustrated by the latest current account figures. Despite moves towards a budget surplus over the last two years, our current account deficit has continued to increase. Could it be that they are not related?

The government has had its head in the clouds. The current account deficit is a crucial economic indicator of wellbeing. It is not the be-all and end-all, but it is crucial. It reflects the state of the national economy and deserves serious attention. To think that all will be A-OK, irrespective of the current account deficit, as long as the domestic export fundamentals are kept under control is naivety in the extreme. People in the community can sense this. They know what is happening with local industries. They know how much they can buy that is made elsewhere. They can even see those things which are food commodities in the marketplace. It is obvious to everyone except the government and perhaps the opposition.

The Greens (WA) are disappointed with a wide range of areas in this budget. Let us start with health and community services, as health care is a relevant place to start. There is no Commonwealth funding for dental care for low income people; no new initiatives in child care, despite ripping out operational subsidies for community based child-care facilities; and no new capital for aged care, despite pleas from the carers in this area who can see that the quality is sinking and sinking as the operators of residential aged care facilities are penny-pinching, cost cutting and staff slashing. The offer in the Australian health care agreement was so low that even the conservative states walked out. There was not one extra dollar to help the public hospital system in crisis, and we have the poorly targeted extension of the seniors health care card.

In relation to taxation, we have increases in migration charges to $5,000 for parents and the introduction of discriminatory visa fees. In relation to labour market programs, there was a further reduction in resources for employment assistance services as a result of savings made through the much advertised Job Network competitive tendering process, where the government is walking away from its responsibility. We have a further tightening of the activity test for unemployed people. Blame the unemployed: that takes the pressure off government.

Let us look at welfare recipients, a big target of the government. We have further pain and a further tightening of the belts of those who can least afford it. There were reduced entitlements affecting many sole parents, including cuts to parenting payments for indigenous sole parents participating in the community development employment program. Blame the unemployed. Blame the poor. Take the pressure off yourself. We have reductions in pensioner education supplements for those not carrying a full study load and a reduction in family allowance for some receiving non-cash maintenance.

For women, we have an emphasis on a gender neutral mainstreaming approach to policy initiatives that have an impact on women. We have no new initiatives for women. In housing, we have the continued decline in funding of the Commonwealth-state housing agreement from 1996-97 levels, including a five per cent dividend cut and an annual cut of $50 million. Again, the government is pulling out the basic necessities and reducing the fundamental standard of living.

Under law and justice, we have no new funds for legal aid and tighter guidelines for spending that will diminish access to legal aid for migration and refugee matters in the Federal Court and the High Court. We have a total undermining of the idea that everyone is equal before the law—the bedrock of the rule of law. This government is positively usurping this principle by saying everyone who can afford it is equal before the law. We have a tighter application requirement and higher fees for refugee applicants in their processes. Is that fair, I ask you?

All in all, these appropriation bills are inadequate. There is not enough funding to address the deep social problems, the ever increasing number of people living in poverty, the continued degradation of the environment, and the desperate situation in the bush. The little electioneering sweeteners that the Treasurer has passed out to the Australian people will not fool them. They feel the impacts of this famous, or now infamous, surplus every day.

In conclusion, I would like to say that this is a government that has used its economic policies as a process of blame. Punish those people who have the least ability to fight back. Reduce funds to those people who are cited as being the noisy lobby groups that even One Nation cites. It is a good way of pretending that you are not going along with bigoted policies by targeting particular groups of people and silencing, as we have heard in the last week or so, those groups who dare to speak out and advise on the policies and the impacts on real people—the impacts not just in rural and regional Australia but on anyone who does not fit under somebody's strange idea of average.

This is what we are seeing in these appropriation bills. Unless Australia sees a real desire to look at the impact of these policies of economic rationalism on the ground, this government obviously does not really want to learn why Australians are disenfranchised.