Deborah O'Neill (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak of a clear and present danger facing the people of the central coast of New South Wales. That danger is the imminent action of the Liberal Premier of this state of New South Wales and his plan to create unemployment. Apart from talking down the New South Wales economy at every turn, the Premier's mythmaking about a 'black hole' has been completely discounted by New South Wales Treasury and by the New South Wales Parliamentary Budget Office. A report from Tony Harris found Mr O'Farrell's media releases about a black hole were:

… unsupported by evidence or conflicted with available information on the state's fiscal position and budgetary processes.

The economist John Quiggin told the Herald that in relation to the impact of the carbon price New South Wales:

The New South Wales government has cherry-picked all the scariest possible numbers in a way that is totally misleading and absolutely dishonest.

Let us be very clear: New South Wales is not in a black hole, nor is the New South Wales economy in crisis. Yet Mr O'Farrell continues to repeat these alarmist claims as he prepares to rip the heart out of the public sector of New South Wales when he brings his budget down on 6 September.

Unemployment is an ugly thing. It never looks good to the people who lose jobs; it never looks good to the people who wave them goodbye as they leave their workplace; it never looks good to families that have to live with the loss of freedom, the loss of security, the loss of hope for the future; and the loss of possibilities that their employment offered. The ravage of unemployment is something that the people of the Central Coast have largely been spared in recent years. This is due to the efforts of successive Labor governments at federal and state levels.

Unfortunately, in the hands of the Liberals in New South Wales, that is about to change. As those who follow events in New South Wales would know, Mr O'Farrell has, without any warning, not least to the people who baited him in at the state election, embarked on a vicious series of cuts to the New South Wales public sector. Mr O'Farrell's axe now hangs over as many as one in four public sector jobs in New South Wales.

Those members in this place from the New South Wales National Party should note that the first job losses have been in the Department of Primary Industries—like lambs to the slaughter. That is how the National Party has led it rural constituencies to those terrible job cuts. Right across New South Wales Mr O'Farrell has made it clear he is looking forward to slashing jobs—to slashing the conditions of teachers and nurses and other essential public sector workers—in the coming state budget.

For us on the Central Coast, that means that up to one in four of our local public sector families will not have the disposable income that they currently have. They will not have the income that keeps our economy ticking over. They will not have the disposable income to spend on products in our local shops, and they will not have the disposable income to spend on services from our local businesses, many of which are already struggling.

These cuts are an act of betrayal of the people in our great state. They are unjustified and potentially catastrophic under the current economic conditions on the coast. With federal economic stimulus projects in our area, like the Building the Education Revolution, nearing completion, our regional economy is slowing. Federal Labor's stimulus programs really kept people working on the Central Coast for a very long time. Mr O'Farrell's axe will undo that good work—undo the good work that saw us get through the global financial crisis, when federal Labor acted to make sure that Australians did not have to suffer the destructive impact of unemployment.

I believe the Central Coast economy could take a terrible blow, a disabling blow, from the O'Farrell cuts. As well as the economic costs there will be social costs. I ask the House to contemplate the potential effects of funding and job cuts to child protection workers. They are unimaginable. Tragedies already occur through the strain on support services. Less funding and fewer workers will simply mean more neglect. There is nothing good about that scenario.

I have to ask: will Mr O'Farrell standby and play Pontius Pilate when some tragedy occurs because police, community service and mental health workers are under resourced? More likely, he will insist that the federal government step in and fix the mess he is going to create. The O'Farrell cuts are dangerous and dishonest. They are based on fiscal falsehoods and they are immoral. I condemn and deplore the New South Wales Liberal government's job cutting. With no reason they are committed to inflicting pain and suffering on the state, and determined to inflict pain and loss of jobs on the families of the Central Coast. I heartily encourage all local public sector workers to join the rally against the O'Farrell government in Sydney on 8 September.

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