Fiona Scott (Lindsay, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

One of the things I find most interesting from the member for Rankin was his admission that he sleeps through parliament. It is an interesting insight, because I think that explains that the former abacus counter to the member for Lilley obviously was sleeping through the last government, and hence they have a record to show that they were definitely asleep at the wheel. There were record deficits. Labor produced the six largest budget deficits in our country's history. They left a massive debt. Labor's government debt blew out $320 billion and was projected to reach $667 billion in 10 years. We had the world's biggest carbon tax. More people were unemployed under those opposite. Definitely, they were asleep at the wheel.

Even now, if you look at those opposite, they are still asleep at the wheel. Bill Shorten, the Leader of the Opposition, does not even acknowledge the support of so many other Labor stalwarts right around the country when it comes around the free trade agreement: Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Daniel Andrews, Jay Weatherill, Andrew Barr and Luke Foley, not to mention Bob Hawke, Simon Crean, Martin Ferguson, John Brumby, Peter Beattie and Bob Carr. But no; Bill Shorten, the Leader of the Opposition, is completely against growth. He does not want to see growth. He has absolutely no economic leadership. Talk about competent leadership—he has no economic leadership. He completely negates what the Financial Services Council says will benefit Australia by $4.2 billion and add an extra 10,000 jobs to Australia. What about the National Farmers' Federation, who state there would be $300 million in benefits to agriculture in 2016 alone? In my electorate, the free trade agreement will bring so many more jobs and so much more opportunity to the people of Western Sydney.

We are part of a government that is delivering for the people of Western Sydney and delivering for Australia with an infrastructure plan that is getting our region moving: $3.6 billion in infrastructure that will start seeing jobs flow to Western Sydney. This is absolutely crucial for our nation's future. We are also committed to getting the debt down. We have already created 335,000 jobs since the last election. We have the highest female participation rate, at record levels, with over 171,000 more women in jobs than at the time of the 2013 election. Bankruptcies are at the lowest levels in 20 years. Environmental approvals have been given to 176 projects, valued at more than $1 trillion. A record 223,013 new companies were registered in 2014. There is a $50 billion infrastructure program to improve road and rail links to reduce travel times and support economic growth. This is a plan. This is competent leadership. But those opposite are not interested. They are too busy falling asleep in parliament. Then there are the tax cuts for small businesses. That 1.5 per cent is going to help get small businesses back on their feet and creating more jobs for so many Australians. We will see funding for schools increase by 28 per cent over the next four years.

What is Labor's solution? Labor's solution is just more taxes: carbon taxes, mining taxes, bank taxes—you name it. It is all about taxes. We are all about the future of our country. The future of Western Sydney is bright. The Medical Research Future Fund dovetails very well into the emerging Penrith region. We have long been planning to be a centre of health and education. The Medical Research Future Fund fits well into this. The free trade agreement with China also dovetails well with the memorandum of understanding between the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and the University of Western Sydney. On the day of the Chinese free trade agreement this MOU was signed with the President, the Prime Minister and the vice chancellors of the two universities. This will create the future of our country. This will create so many smart jobs for the people of Western Sydney.

This is competent leadership. This is vision and hope. This is what is going to make Western Sydney the powerhouse it deserves to be. I commend the government for taking a stand, cleaning up Labor's mess and showing the people of Australia what competent leadership actually is.

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