Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We have heard a lot from the latest Prime Minister during the last 24 hours about economic leadership, but we have not heard a lot about what that phrase actually means. Australians are familiar with the opposite of economic leadership, of course, because that is what we have suffered for the last two years. Economic leadership is not a treasurer who spooks markets by releasing a press release every time he has had a thought bubble because he is not prepared to work up proper policy proposals. Economic leadership is not a prime minister or indeed a former prime minister who is so disengaged from the economy that he thinks a grocery code of conduct is an acceptable response to the challenge of the European debt crisis earlier this year. Economic leadership is not a communications minister, or a former communications minister, who claims to be interested in the opportunities presented by technology but who guts the NBN to ensure that Australian businesses have to face the challenges of the future using the technologies of the past. Economic leadership is not a small business minister who leaves the business community in a state of suspense about whether anti-competitive changes to competition law will or will not be enacted. Economic leadership is not a social services minister who lets youth unemployment climb to 19.1 per cent—the highest rate in 16 years—and then decides that the proper policy response is to punish young people by forcing them to live on nothing while they apply for the Newstart allowance. Economic leadership is not a government that is asleep at the helm whilst 781,000 Australians are out of work—a 13-year high—when GDP growth has contracted to just two per cent, when the budget deficit doubled in the last 12 months, and when consumer sentiment has slumped 15 per cent since the coalition came to office.

What does economic leadership look like? The government has a responsibility to create policy settings that enable businesses to grow and to create prosperity for the nation. But it needs to do this in a responsible and evidence-driven way that is clear and is communicated to all. That is the only way to avoid the capital strike that some commentators say is confronting our economy. That is a bare minimum of competent governance. But economic leadership requires much, much more.

The business community is not a single entity. It has marquee companies that benefit from existing regulations, and technological disrupters who want to change the status quo. It has price makers and price takers. It has importers and exporters. Economic leadership is about balancing those competing interests in a way that is fair. It is about investing in research and development so that we can provide Australian businesses and workers with the tools they need to be competitive in the future. Can we expect this from a man who supported $100,000 university degrees? Can we expect it from a man who was happy with the coalition government ripping millions of dollars from higher education and from science and research?

The economy consists of more than just business, as Senator Bullock has pointed out. It includes us as employees and as consumers. Economic leadership requires the benefits of growth and the fruits of prosperity to be distributed fairly. Can we expect this from a man who unhesitatingly endorsed a GP tax and cuts to hospitals and schools?

Economic leadership may require decisions that cut across your political interests. It may require you to raise taxes on highly profitable companies that have the clout to run media campaigns. It may require you to cut benefits to wealthy people in your electorate. Can we expect this from a man whose own colleagues accuse him of having put himself first throughout his career? Can we expect principled decisions from a man who declared former Prime Minister Tony Abbott's climate policies to be 'bull', and now shows no inclination to change them once in power?

When the latest Prime Minister is called upon to show economic leadership, the loudest voices in his ears are going to be the voices of those who have the most to lose—the men who have a silver spoon firmly in their mouths. The question is: can we trust this man to make decisions for all Australians? Can we trust him to show economic leadership? History says no.