George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would very much like to associate myself with the comments made by the minister and to add to them. Until his recent retirement, Joe Hockey was one of those larger-than-life characters in this place. It is sad that he has left this place, and I do not know that we ever—when we leave here—leave the political arena for good. I am sure that there will be commentary from Joe in the future, probably regarding this government and no doubt regarding future governments of the other political persuasion, but Joe was one of those larger-than-life characters.

I have to say, without a doubt, I was a Joe Hockey fan before I came into this place and I remain a Joe Hockey fan. I can remember back in the 2010 election when I was running a campaign and we were not sure whether the LNP was going to win the seat. Apparently the polling showed that one day I was in front and the other day Labor was in front. Joe came into the seat to help bolster my chances and we did a bit of a walk around one of the shopping centres there and had a coffee and a bit of yarn with the locals. It was the first time I had seen Joe in the flesh. His ability to interact and engage with just everyday people was what I thought was remarkable. Here was this person whom I had seen only on Sunrise or when interviewed on news shows and the rest, and here he was walking around the local Kmart with me, pumping hands as we walked along and talked to people about all sorts of problems.

Obviously there are a lot of critics out there of Joe, in his role as Treasurer. In short, there were measures in Joe's 2013-14 budget that I did not particularly like, but I have to say that he was a very brave Treasurer. He was a Treasurer who tried to do a lot for this nation, particularly around the issue of debt control, and that is something that, as a nation, we have got to get to grips with. You cannot continue to spend more than you earn. If you do that forever and a day, you are headed off the fiscal cliff. Joe knew that—he saw it and he put measures in place to ensure we would not be careering off that cliff into the future. He started us on the path of moving away from this country, ultimately, going into sovereign default, because that is what ultimately happens if you continue to spend more than you earn. Eventually, the day of reckoning comes.

We find that when we look at countries like Argentina. Argentina had comparable living standards with Australia for many, many years, until their debt came to such a stage that they could not repay it, and so everything came a gutser for Argentina. Look at that country now and you will see the ramifications of debt that is out of control. You see broken-down infrastructure everywhere—people who torch buses and trains when they break down, because they are that frustrated with government services not working. That is the kind of thing that Joe probably foresaw if we did not do something here—a country that has First World living standards falling into the Third World because of debt that cannot be repaid. He put us on a path that will set us right into the future—a return to surplus but, more importantly, a return to money in the bank, as we had in the Howard era. Now, it is a long, long path, because, quite frankly, there are so many spending commitments out there, which sectors of the public are wedded to, that mean we cannot do this easily. Joe tried to do that in a way that was quick and that was going to get to that ultimate solution we need as a nation, but it was probably a bit too much for the public to swallow.

But he will really always be—in my books, and I am sure in many people's books—held up high as a Treasurer who attempted to do the right thing by this nation by getting us onto the path of fiscal credibility once again, and his legacy will live on past this parliament and past this era of politics. We will remember him as someone who was brave enough to call out the end of the age of entitlement. It is something that we need to get a grip on in this nation. The government is not there to dole out endless cheques. The government is there for basic functions that the private sector and the public cannot deal with themselves: things like defence, aged care—and even that probably pushes the boundaries a bit in some ways—and health services, the basic services that a society needs to function. It is not about $900 cheques, school halls and all these frivolous, pointless activities the government gets involved in basically in order to jag votes. Joe knew that, and he tried to be as pure as he could be as Treasurer along those lines. Ultimately, as I said, it was a bridge too far for some. But, because of his efforts, we are going to be indebted to him for a long time to come.

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