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Monday, 27 February 2012
Page: 805

Senator POLLEY (Tasmania—Deputy Government Whip in the Senate) (15:52): I rise to refute the nonsense of this vague and incomprehensible matter of public importance. The internet is a wonderful invention; you can look up almost anything, and instantly there is a response. I did not have to look very far to find an interesting definition of 'dysfunction' on dictionary.com: 'any malfunctioning part or element: the dysfunctions of the country's economy'. Well, fancy that! There it is, in black and white, for all of us to see. So let us see what really is true. We can see it in this motion from Senator Fifield, the Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate—a member of a coalition government that squandered the opportunities in our nation's budgets between 2004 and 2007. Their only interest was pork-barrelling at election time. What would the coalition have done in the global financial crisis? They would have done absolutely nothing. Those opposite, at that time, said we should sit back and wait. They wanted to put their heads in the sand.

But what did we do? We took the action the Australian people elected us to take. The Gillard government's first priority has been to keep the economy strong by delivering jobs and growth and helping Australian workers. Labor made the right decisions during the global financial crisis to keep people in jobs and deliver economic stimulus to drive growth. We have created over 750,000 new jobs since 2007. We have the right plan now to keep the economy strong and drive future growth to help working people.

Would the coalition have cared if hundreds if not thousands of Australians had lost their jobs during the global financial crisis? Of course not. All they are interested in is big business and their mates—like those in the tobacco industry. Donations are clearly far more important than the Australian community.

Let us have a quick look at what this government has achieved. Those opposite say we should go to an election. The reality is that we have 18 months to the next election, and you have 18 months to come up with some policies to change the Leader of the Opposition's mantra of 'oppose, oppose, oppose'. I might not have time to go through everything, but let us just put things in context. We are about the future, whereas Mr Abbott and the opposition are about taking us back to the 20th century. I said we have created 750,000 jobs since 2007, and we have 140,000 more Australians employed today than we had 12 months ago. The economy is strong. We have bulletproofed the Australian economy and kept it out of recession during the worst economic downturn in three-quarters of a century. Thanks to this, our economy's fundamentals have remained strong, with outstanding employment growth and record investment. We are committed to a return to surplus next financial year.

Mr Deputy President, you would know how favourably the National Broadband Network has been received in Tasmania. It will mean affordable, high-speed broadband for all Australians no matter where they live and for all Australian businesses no matter where they are located. It will mean better education, better health care and better access for Australian businesses to the biggest marketplace in human history.

With our health agreement, we have more doctors, more nurses, more beds, less waiting and less waste, together with better accountability and community control—achieved through a historic health deal with the states at COAG. Our agreement on the carbon price will cut pollution and create clean energy jobs.. It will cut taxes and increase the pension to support the Australian economy. This is Australia taking responsibility among the nations of the world.

Our mining tax will give Australians a fair share of the mining boom—a boost to retirement savings, tax breaks for small business and company tax cuts. These again are things that those opposite oppose.

We have doubled our investment in school education, upgraded facilities at every school and provided more information for parents than ever before.

On skills, we are investing $2.4 billion in the Building Australia's Future Workforce package to create 130,000 new training places—new participation measures that provide opportunities but also demand responsibility.

For seniors, there has been a historic increase in the pension, and now we are looking at improving aged care to give older people more choice and control. Those opposite failed miserably to protect our older Australians over their 11 years in government.

We have made a record investment in our infrastructure of more than $36 billion around the country. We have laid the foundations for a National Disability Insurance Scheme. The 2011-12 budget delivered 95 per cent of our election promises, as well as returning the budget to surplus in 2012-13. Some of the savings measures will not be easy but we will be delivering the biggest fiscal turnaround in 30 years. We have invested $2.2 billion in a mental health package to deliver additional services and a greater focus on prevention and early intervention.

And the big thing we did for Australian workers and families was getting rid of Work Choices—but we know the opposition's plans for future attacks on Australian workers. We have cut taxes in the last three years for working families and low-income earners. Someone earning $50,000 a year now pays $1,750 less in tax than they did in 2007. Interest rates are still lower than they were when the Liberals left office.

We introduced Australia's first ever paid parental leave scheme, giving new parents more time with their children and reducing the financial pressures on families. We have increased the childcare rebate to 50 per cent.

Meanwhile, what have we seen from the coalition? They oppose the mining tax. They oppose more superannuation for workers. They oppose tackling global warming by pricing carbon and Australia playing its role in the world. They oppose investing in the National Broadband Network. They oppose health reform, and they are even backing away from something as important as the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Instead, the three finance stooges of the coalition already have a $70 billion problem to deal with. Savage cuts will adversely affect everyone. Cuts will be needed to pay for the $11.1 billion in forgone revenue from axing the mining tax. They want to give back the mining tax to some of the world's biggest and most profitable mining companies and, in the process, stop an increase in superannuation savings for Australian workers. And $24 billion will be needed to refund the big polluters for the carbon permits they will have bought for their pollution.

The coalition have already promised cuts to GP superclinics, the GP after-hours hotline, computers in schools, trade training centres and apprenticeship training programs. We know, as the Australian people know, that Tony Abbott has form in health. As health minister he cut a billion dollars out of hospital funding, the equivalent of closing 1,025 hospital beds. The coalition will bring back Work Choices laws to strip away basic workplace protections.

Senator Fierravanti-Wells: Mr Deputy President, I rise on a point of order. What Senator Polley has just said is untrue. It is misleading of the Senate because—

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Senator Fierravanti-Wells, it is not a point of order; it is a debating point. You will have an opportunity during your address.

Senator POLLEY: The Australian people will not forget. They know Tony Abbott's record as Minister for Health and Ageing and they are scared he will take residence in the Lodge. We know that the coalition will bring back Work Choices laws to strip away basic workplace protections. They are a risk to your jobs. The Australian people know that they are a risk to their jobs and they are a risk to job security.

We know, as the Australian people know, that it is the Gillard Labor government that is looking after the economy, looking after working Australians and looking after families. Labor has a plan for the future direction of Australia, positioning Australia to take advantage of Asia's remarkable growth. We on this side know that the Australian community are smart. They are much smarter than the opposition gives them credit for. That is why we are laying down a progressive reform program for taking this country forward. At the same time, we are not leaving behind Australian families; we are not leaving behind Australian workers.

We know that delivering a surplus in the 2012-13 financial year will bring about the sort of security that this economy and the Australian people deserve. We are determined to get the big things done and under Julia Gillard we will get those big things done and we will do what is right. Even when it is difficult we will put the national interest first. We know who is dysfunctional, and it is not this Gillard government. It is Tony Abbott and those opposite. Just as the opposition wants to race back to an election now, the Australian people know that Julia Gillard has Tony Abbott's measure. She can out-negotiate him. She can get the very difficult job done— (Time expired)

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Before I call Senator Fierravanti-Wells, I would just remind senators to address members and senators by their correct titles.