Download Fragment

Monday, 27 February 2012
Page: 797

Senator BACK (Western Australia) (15:24): If anybody did not believe the dysfunctionality of this Labor government, they need only have listened to the answers to questions this afternoon by Senators Evans and Conroy and the interjections of Senator Wong. We have seen an admission of the dysfunctionality of this government, and you can just start with Senator Evans himself and others in the field of employment. They omit to mention that in the year 2011 employment flatlined in this country; there was not any increase. They very proudly talk about a minuscule increase in employment in the first month of 2012. That is January; that is the month when everybody leaving school is seeking work. Of course, they also omit to mention—although both Senator Evans and Senator Pratt are Western Australian senators—that all of that increase came from the state of Western Australia. They conveniently overlook what was happening in south-east Australia in manufacturing and in the car industry. Unemployment figures in this country are a disgrace to this government. If you look at underemployment and at those who are not participating, those who are not seeking work and those who have been reduced to part-time employment, you get the actual figures in employment participation.

We look at the question of debt. The Labor government, only four years ago, inherited a surplus of some $70 billion, no net debt and no deficit. In that space of time they have increased the indebtedness of this country to $230 billion. The taxpayers of this country need to understand that, even if that figure stops now, we will be paying back $15.4 billion a month in principal and interest for the next 20 years—$15.4 billion a month. This crowd on the other side have some gall to talk to us about fiscal responsibility. Surplus? They would not know what a surplus was. In 2007 they inherited a very sound economic situation. They ask us to compare America and Europe now to how Australia is now. Ask them how America, Europe and other parts of the world were in 2007.

Now we see the imposition of both carbon and mining taxes. Senator Pratt spoke of the car industry. Did she mention that last year, 2011—a record year for sales of cars in this nation—we actually manufactured less than 20 per cent of all cars sold, 200,000 out of one million? We manufactured fewer cars last year than we did in 1957. And what is the carbon tax going to do? It is going to add a cost $400 per car. So, if we manufacture 200,000 cars, there will be an $80 million increase in cost. But what about the 800,000 cars that will come in from overseas that will not be the subject of a $400 carbon tax impost? And we see that it goes on. There is a lack of business confidence in this country. If people want to start talking about confidence in manufacturing, in retailing and in the tourism sector, they need only pick up the newspapers once we can get this terrible government off the front page.

In the long, sad and lamentable litany of lies that we have seen out of the Labor mouths in the last week, the one that absolutely got to me was the comment of the past Prime Minister—the deposed Prime Minister, now a backbencher—Mr Rudd in which he said that Mr Abbott doesn't have 'my temperament or my experience to govern'. When I heard that I said, 'Thank God!' Imagine the temperament of Mr Rudd, with language that I have not heard in shearing sheds or stockyards coming out of Mr Rudd's mouth. When it comes to experience, it is an interesting point to note that when Mr Abbott becomes the Prime Minister of this country he will have had more ministerial experience than any other Prime Minister coming into that position in recent Australian history. That is what we in the electorate have had to put up with over the last few days.

We once again have imposed on us a Prime Minister who went to the last election saying, 'There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead,' the same person who said, 'I will not interfere in the private health rebate.' Of course, we have seen her doing exactly that. We see a circumstance in my own state—and how disappointing that the last speaker herself did not draw attention to the damage being wreaked upon the state of Western Australia by this federal Labor government. Why? Because they will have no seats. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.