Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

That is right. The member opposite interjects that it has gone up. That is what I just said, if you had listened. Every year for the last 10 years since Howard left it has been $40 billion. Forty billion dollars a year times 10 is $400 billion. You are right—it has gone up—but the problem is: members opposite do not seem to want to help us rein in that spending. People in my electorate should know that the Prime Minister is not in a position to just go, 'Let's spend $395 billion this year. Let's reduce it by $5 billion.' The Prime Minister cannot do that. The only way we can reduce expenditure is to get the support of the parliament through the Senate. And unfortunately, the Senate is not enabling us to do that—

An honourable member interjecting—

And they continue to see them go up. But that is an important point for the people of Petrie to know. I am certainly committed; I do not want to leave debt and deficit as a legacy to the next generation. I spoke today to Joe and Meirav Strasberg from Bracken Ridge, who made that important point to me. They said: 'Luke, we cannot continue to let debt and deficit go up. If the Senate does not support it, why not call another election now?'. And I said: 'Look, we did call another election, but the Australian people still voted for a different Senate. But it is important for me to know.' As someone that was elected, I continue to explain to people that this is an important measure, that debt is continuing to go up, and that we do need to address it—and I will continue to highlight it. Joe and Meirav Strasberg also spoke about free speech, and said that the changes to 18C were important. They criticised me—and us—for taking too long to do it, but I explained that we have been listening and we are doing it, and that I certainly believe in free speech. I think it is a really good thing—if people know me, and they know Prime Minister—that people in Australia do not tolerate racism. There is protection still in place there and, as the Prime Minister has said, we are strengthening that. So Joe and Meirav: thank you for your contribution in relation to that issue as well.

Paul Weisenekker from Carseldine shone a light onto a reform issue that had us all talking during the first sitting period—that when senators leave their party, the spot should go back to the party. So if someone leaves the party, then that seat should go back to the party; that person should not be able to sit in parliament for another six years. I agree with that. It has happened on both sides of parliament—but I think that if you are elected under a party, like I was, then you should stick with that party. Madam Deputy Speaker Wicks, you will find that most Independents in this place—apart from the member for Mayo and the member for Indi, I think—were all originally with a party and then switched to become Independents, which I do not think is right, whether they are in the Senate or in the House.

Stella Burnell from Redcliffe calls on the government to fast-track the complete legalisation of medicinal cannabis for appropriate affordable treatment:

Please push for the complete legalisation of medicinal cannabis. Many people are suffering and this substance could alleviate their pain. It is frustrating to see how slowly this is happening.

Stella, thank you for contacting me. I have raised this directly with the Minister for Health, the Hon. Greg Hunt, and I am pleased to see that fast, safe and easy access to medicinal cannabis is on this government's agenda. I voted for that change last year, Stella. It is new territory, of course, for Australia. It offers hope for those with a wide range of health challenges. I congratulate the minister's office for listening to the people and moving swiftly to address concerns over difficulty accessing the product on script while domestic production becomes available. The controlled importation by approved providers from approved international sources offers interim supply and bridges the gap until domestic production can meet local needs. Essential services like health are stretched to their limits. We need to inject efficiency into the triangle of government responsibility.

Allan Bell from Scarborough also echoed the sentiments of many when he spoke of the high cost of living and said he would:

like to see more done about lowering the daily living cost which is killing low income Australians such as petrol, power, water, rent, fresh food…where and when does it stop?

Too right, Allan! The rising costs of living have reached a crisis point for many people. These costs include the costs of child care—our childcare reform package will make child care more affordable, more flexible and more accessible for families, and many families have contacted me. Hopefully we can have this sorted by 1 July, so we can encourage more women and more parents back into the workforce. Our package delivers the highest rate of assistance to those who need it most. I would also say to Allan to that the cost of power is a real issue. I was talking to The Golden Ox Restaurant from Margate: five years ago, their electricity bill was $2,750 a month and it is now $5,240 a month—almost a doubling of their electricity costs. That is why the Prime Minister's announcement in relation to a 50-per-cent expansion of the Snowy Hydro scheme, pumped hydro and other forms of renewable energy—as well as clean coal and more gas for the domestic supply—is important, because we need energy security. If businesses' electricity costs are doubling, how are they going to employ more people?

I also had a number of other people—Dawn Cue from Rothwell, Terry Mead from Redcliffe, Brenda Wood from Scarborough, Trevor Johnson from Clontarf and Debra Lee Andrews from Kippa-Ring—talking about foreign ownership. One of them mentioned Cubbie Station being sold off to the Chinese. Obviously that happened during the former government when Wayne Swan signed off on it, but I would that say that the Foreign Investment Review Board has been in place and the government did stop the sale of the Kidman cattle station twice when it came before the FIRB, because it was 100 per cent Australian owned. Then a new bid came through from Hancock Prospecting for 60 per cent ownership and part Chinese ownership, and that was approved.

But I would say to people that, whilst some farmers are struggling, there are others who are doing very well. We have had a big increase in exports in the last 12 months, from $46 billion in agriculture exports to $60 billion in agriculture exports. Of course, that is partly because of our free trade agreements, and we can also invest in other countries. So I say to the people of Petrie, and everyone who has contacted me: thank you for your engagement. I will continue to work hard to represent you well and I look forward to leaving this place soon and being back with my constituents.

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