Craig Thomson (Dobell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The 2008 budget delivered by the Treasurer two weeks ago put to work the mandate that Australian people trusted the Australian Labor Party. Already, before the budget was delivered, we had seen—and the member for New England referred to it in his contribution in this place—the apology to the stolen generation. We all were very privileged to be part of that tremendous recognition and ceremony, which, unfortunately, was 10 years late but still worth waiting for for what it did in reconciling differences in this country. Also, before the budget had been handed down, this government, the Rudd government, had signed Kyoto; authorised the Garnaut report; introduced and had legislation passed that did away with some of the particularly obnoxious issues in relation to Work Choices, principally the making of Australian workplace agreements; and brought together the best and brightest of this nation to look to the long term in the 2020 Summit. That happened not only here in Canberra but around the country, with MPs conducting their own local 2020 summits to look at the best local ideas that they could feed into the national 2020 Summit.

The budget sets out the government’s agenda very clearly. It is careful in dealing with our present economic climate. We must all remember that we are dealing with the Howard government’s inflationary legacy, fuelled by reckless spending and characterised by its largesse and short-termism. The government’s first budget has set a new benchmark by delivering on our election promises made prior to the last election. It is very important that we have delivered on all our election promises. The government has delivered on all its election promises in my electorate of Dobell and indeed Australia wide. We all know John Howard’s record on keeping promises. The Prime Minister, the Treasurer and the new Australian government are clearly making a break from Mr Howard’s legacy of deceit. The Rudd government believes that all promises are core promises.

This budget will be seen in years to come as a historic budget because it looks at the long term. It is not a budget that just looks to the immediate electoral cycle. It is a budget about nation building. It looks to the future and sets a path beyond the immediate electoral cycle. And it is a budget that is consistent with this government’s approach to looking at long-term solutions, making sure that we put Australia on a sound economic footing and making sure that we can deliver to working families across Australia.

The 2008 budget has put working families on the Central Coast at the centre of the Rudd government’s commitment to tackling inflation and laying the building blocks for a stronger, more modern Australia. At the centre of the budget is a $55 billion Working Families Support Package, which delivers on the tax cuts we committed to in the election and helps Australian families with childcare and education costs. This is welcome news to the thousands of hardworking Central Coast families who, last November, said they wanted an Australian government that was on their side. They rejected the coalition’s Work Choices laws and the policies of division. They embraced a team that was more concerned with their concerns.

The budget contains a $40 billion investment in Australia’s future, to fund new and improved roads, hospitals and schools. The budget is the first step towards building a more modern Australia with first-class economic and social infrastructure. By making Australia’s finances more sustainable, we can now start investing in the schools, hospitals, roads, rail and communication projects which families in the Central Coast rely on every day but which were neglected by our predecessors for over a decade. This has only been made possible because we have had the courage to make the tough decisions that may cause some pain but in the long term will make Australia stronger.

Key initiatives of the Rudd government’s first budget include strong economic management with a surplus of over $21.7 billion, the abolition of $7 billion of the Liberals’ reckless spending and the Working Families Support Package worth $55 billion. There is unprecedented investment in Australia’s future: around $40 billion put aside for infrastructure, education and health improvements; $15.2 billion for sustainable water initiatives and to help tackle climate change; over $22 billion for road and rail projects; and an investment of $2.4 billion for Australian seniors and carers.

I would like to congratulate the Treasurer on this budget. He has shown an extensive knowledge of the economic barriers that working families face in outer metropolitan communities. These families were looking for more than just the previous government’s bias towards handouts at election time. These are the families that delivered us government and we are intent on delivering for them. By investing in infrastructure, water, child care, GP superclinics and an education revolution, we are telling these families that they now have a government with them at the forefront of its mind.

I consider this budget a win not only for Australian working families but also for specific projects on the Central Coast and, in particular, in my electorate of Dobell. In this budget we saw significant local road funding, a GP superclinic in the northern area of the Central Coast and $20 million funding to help restore the health of the Tuggerah Lakes estuary system. Tuggerah Lakes is one of the jewels in the crown of New South Wales and it is certainly the jewel in the crown of the Central Coast—one of Australia’s high-growth population centres. Under the five-year program, the government’s contribution to implementing the Tuggerah Lakes Estuary Management Plan will help reduce sediment and nutrient inputs to the lakes, improve the quality of stormwater entering the lakes from the catchment, reduce weed build-up on the lakes foreshore and regenerate salt marsh, and stabilise and rehabilitate the banks of the lakes.

These lakes are under pressure from urban development, with seagrass beds declining by over 50 per cent in the last 40 years and salt marsh declining by over 80 per cent. The Rudd Labor government is committed to improving the quality of our waterways on the Central Coast. Our Tuggerah Lakes plan will also improve recreational facilities around the lakes and creeks, to provide more sustainable fish and prawn populations for long-term recreational and commercial fishing. It will also have a significant effect on tourism in our area, by returning the beautiful Tuggerah Lakes to their once pristine condition. The federal government is committed to restoring the water quality of our major population centres, building healthy and sustainable communities and ensuring our lakes and rivers are in good shape for the future.

I also welcome the GP superclinic that is to be built in my electorate. The government’s investment of up to $2.5 million in a new GP superclinic in the growth areas in the north of the Central Coast will deliver improved services to the residents of this community. This will bring together a range of health services under one roof and help attract doctors to the area. It will also take pressure off the Wyong Hospital and its emergency department, which is one of the busiest in the state. The Labor government are not blaming the states for the problems in health—we are not saying, ‘These are your problems alone,’ but rather, ‘We’re here to work cooperatively.’ We are in a position on the Central Coast in my electorate where the number of doctors is now just over 80 and the average age of those doctors is over 59. On the Central Coast we are facing a real crisis in relation to the number of doctors that we are able to attract to the area.

A GP superclinic is not the silver bullet that will solve all of those problems, but it is a significant investment providing much needed medical services in my electorate which the previous government neglected and had no plan for. The federal government’s GP superclinics, by co-locating specialists and allied health services such as physiotherapists, mental health counsellors and dieticians with GPs, will enable patients to seamlessly access the range of health services they need to improve their health. The Rudd government will work closely with local doctors and health professionals to ensure that services offered at the new north Central Coast GP superclinic will complement and enhance existing services.

The local community will also be closely consulted to finalise the preferred location and the precise suite of services to be delivered at the north Central Coast GP superclinic. The government has chosen the north of the Central Coast because it is a growing area with many young families—young families who decided at the last election that they had had enough of a short-sighted federal government that had totally lost sight of them. The government’s commitment to a GP superclinic in the north of the Central Coast will service the health needs of this area and surrounding communities by helping to attract more doctors and other health professionals to the area. Once completed, the Central Coast GP superclinic is expected to include privately practising GPs, after-hours services, chronic disease management services and a range of allied health services such as physiotherapy, dieticians and podiatrists. It is a practical example of how our policy of establishing GP superclinics can benefit families and improve health services. It will help to take the pressure off the very busy Wyong Hospital and, by working co-operatively with the NSW government, it will help the health system respond to the community’s needs and avoid the blame-shifting and cost-shifting of times past.

The strategic regional program supports land transport projects that support the growth of regional industry, respond to structural change or develop local social and economic opportunities. We have put $2.5 million into the Watanobbi to Warnervale Link Road. We have also put a further $460,000 into the Ridgeway Road upgrade. Black Spot Program projects target those road locations where crashes are occurring. By funding measures such as traffic signals and roundabouts at dangerous locations, the program reduces the risk of crashes. Funding of $15.9 million will be provided to black spot projects in New South Wales in 2008-09. Roads to Recovery funding is provided to local government authorities and to state and territory governments responsible for local road maintenance and upgrade in areas not covered by local councils. This government has put $1½ million into Gosford and close to $1 million into Wyong roads.

The Rudd government’s first budget will also provide $250,000 for Central Coast business mentoring services. This is part of a $42 million allocation to fund one-stop small business advisory centres across Australia. The previous government provided some funding in relation to small business, but the promises made in respect of my electorate have doubled that funding. The Rudd government truly is now the party that supports small business. As we all know, in many areas small business is the heart that keeps pumping the economy. That is certainly the case in my electorate. These valuable centres provide much-needed advice for those wanting to establish or improve a business. This funding is part of the government’s overall small business strategy that includes cutting red tape in 27 areas of business regulation. The funding decision meets Labor’s election commitment to support more than 30 business advisory centres around Australia.

I would also like to mention the funding for the so-called missing link pipeline in my electorate between the Mangrove Creek dam and the Mardi Creek dams. This is a commitment of over $80 million to make sure that, in conjunction with the state government’s plans for a dam in the Hunter area, we can actually drought-proof the Central Coast once and for all. This commitment will see the missing link pipeline completed in 2010. The Central Coast, like much of Australia, has been in an unprecedented drought. Only 12 months ago, the Central Coast’s dam levels were as low as 13 per cent. We have had level 4 water restrictions on the Central Coast for many, many years.

What did the previous government do in relation to this? This project was spoken about for many years, but they did nothing—nothing until the Labor Party started to campaign on this with a grassroots campaign asking people to sign petitions calling on the government to act. We made an initial commitment to this and we then saw that the whole $80.3 million was finally committed to ensure that the Central Coast in the future will have a secure supply of water. This is part of this government’s Water Smart Australia program. I think my friends on the other side should also think that this project is well worth supporting.

We look at the approach that this government has taken to the economy in this budget and we have to compare it with what we inherited and the record of the previous government. The member for New England, in his contribution here, actually understood one of the real problems that was facing this country and facing this government in framing the budget. He identified, as we have identified, the problem of inflation. We inherited an economy that had inflation at a 16-year high. But what do the opposition say in relation to this problem? They do not adhere to our advice. They do not even adhere to the sound advice of the member for New England. What they say is that there is not a problem with inflation; it is merely a charade or a fairytale—or sometimes it might be a little problem but not a problem that we need to address seriously. Quite frankly, that is the reason we are in this difficulty with inflation at a 16-year high. That is the reason the Reserve Bank of Australia, on over 20 occasions, warned the previous government of the dangers of not acting. We have seen interest rates go up 12 times. These things are not unrelated.

What we also saw from the previous government was reckless spending. They were lucky enough to be in government while we had this incredible resources boom. But what did they do? Did they look at nation building? Did they look at infrastructure issues? Did they look at trying to make sure that our skills shortage was addressed? No. All they did was fritter away money on short-term political expediency. The previous government were the best friend inflation ever had and, while they were in government, they were asleep at the wheel. That has meant that this government have had to take the tough economic decisions in relation to inflation, making sure that we can bring it under control while delivering on all of the promises we made before the last election.

Inflation hurts families. It certainly hurts families in my electorate of Dobell. We have the lowest median household incomes in New South Wales. A large proportion of people in my electorate are on fixed incomes. They have seen the effects of inflation. They have seen supermarket prices skyrocketing. They have seen the increase in petrol prices. We have seen a 33 per cent increase in mortgage defaults in the last year. These are all as a result of the pressure that inflation has been putting on the economy. It took the Rudd Labor government to front up to the plate and say, ‘Not only are we going to deliver on our election promises but we are going to make sure that we put downward pressure on inflation because we understand that working families and those on fixed incomes are hurting and the best thing we can do for them is make sure that we bring inflation under control.’

Let us look at the response we have had to this budget from the opposition. Quite frankly, they have no plans of their own. They are bereft of ideas. It is a bit like any issue that has come before this parliament, such as Work Choices. Do they support it or do they not support it? Some days they do and some days they do not. Perhaps it depends on whether you are from Western Australia or from another state. It is something that they still have not made up their minds on. We heard today the shadow Treasurer in the luxury car tax debate arguing what a bad tax it was et cetera. But then, when it came to his position, he said, ‘We do not have a position; we do not support the increase in the tax but we are not against it either.’ It was the same with alcopops. We had the Leader of the Opposition saying what a tremendous idea it was and then suddenly he backflipped on it because his party are bereft of ideas and do not know where they are going. This is a good budget. This is a budget that should be supported. This is a budget that delivers for working families in Australia.

See this speech in context