Andrew Robb (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Chairman of the Coalition Policy Development Committee) Share this | Hansard source

Here he is! He looks confused. He does not even know the OECD figures that show that the Australian economy went from zero debt to, now, $210 billion of gross debt. We have gone to that level, and it is the third fastest in growth of any developed country in the world, apart from the powerhouses of Iceland and Ireland!

A government member interjecting—

What an embarrassment! What a statement! 'We got the big calls right,' said the member for Maribyrnong, and now we have confusion coming across the table—total confusion. Despite the mining boom we have had three record deficits. Not only that; we have had a structural deficit in this year's budget, which is twice Germany's structural deficit. We have, on a per capita basis compared with Italy—one of the big economies in the world and one of the shaky ones—a structural deficit which is 30 per cent greater.

So on a per capita basis we are twice as risky—twice as bad and twice as big—as Germany, and compared to Italy our structural deficit is 30 per cent greater on a per capita basis. This is the vulnerability that we have. This means that if there is any downturn in commodity prices we will be facing a $50 billion, $60 billion or $70 billion deficits for years and years. That means much higher debt, and all of the prosperity—all of the great blessings that we have had from this mining boom—will be squandered. This is irresponsibility. This is a government that will not acknowledge what is going on in our own country, much less the rest of the world.

The other thing about this vulnerability is the growth in government that we have seen in our lives over the last four years. It is the biggest growth in government in my life—and that includes the Whitlam era. This is the only government in the world that reregulated its labour market in the face of a global financial crisis. Those changes are now coming home to roost. We are now seeing the vulnerability and the repercussions.

Not only that; this is the only country in the world—the only government in the world—that is renationalising its telecommunications sector. What does the Economist magazine think of that? We heard about it earlier on. This is the only country in the world that is bringing in a nationwide carbon tax. What about that tax? It is crawling with thousands of bureaucrats. It is crawling with six new organisations. It is the most interventionist way you could ever try to deal with a price on carbon. It is the most socialist way you could deal with the price of carbon. No-one else has one; we are ahead of the rest of the world. That is a vulnerability. We are putting this carbon tax on everybody in this economy despite the fact that we are facing very vulnerable, very doubtful times.

We had the member for Maribyrnong up here a few minutes ago gloating that this government had created an efficient public service. If you go back to the first budget of the Treasurer of this Labor government you find that the budget predicted that, in 2011-12, the Public Service would grow to a cost of $16 billion. Have a look at the budget papers this year and you will see that the cost for 2011-12 is expected to be $19 billion. So there we had the member for Maribyrnong, who is supposed to be the Assistant Treasurer—what a goose!—who thinks his party has improved, refined and maintained a public service which is efficient. Yet it has grown $3 billion more in cost than they anticipated just three years ago—and that is in the face of a global financial crisis, for goodness sake!

This is a government that has failed Australians. We can give hope, growth and development, and we can open up the north; but this government has failed and will not deliver on those things. We offer hope, reward and opportunity.

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