Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I do welcome the opportunity to speak on behalf of the future generations of this country and to say to the opposition that it is not business as usual. Things have changed and they should be very clear on what has changed. Back in 2007 there was $50 billion in the bank. Now, after six years of deficits—six years where the reality that followed the budget papers a year later never reflected what was in those papers—things have changed and things now must change. So for those that have created the mess to now complain and whinge and appeal to the worst in human nature in this country—self-interest—it is a real shame. There are things that just need to be done differently.

Of course, when I look at the budget, there is lots of it and I am not happy about. Sure, no-one needs to be happy about it, but people need to realise that something has got to be done. It just cannot go on having bigger and bigger deficits. Things have to change; spending needs to be changed. Otherwise it comes down to a betrayal of few generations of this country. I do want to, in the years ahead, way after I am gone from this place, looking into the faces of my daughters and maybe their children and say, 'We just handed the debt onto you because I adopt the path of least resistance and did what was easy rather than what was right.' So I see this as things that need to be done. Again, no-one needs to be happy about it, but the reason why they need to be done is the last six years of spending, of borrowing and promises into the future.

So it has come to this. I did not use to be like this. There was $50 billion in the bank back in 2007. Now it is $1 billion a month in interest payments—borrowing just to pay the interest. And, possibly, if we do not get this budget through, then the $667 billion that this country would have been saddled with after 10 years will be at that much or even more. Instead, if this budget gets through, then we will be looking at something far less in the future of $389 billion. Of course, things need to change. Again, we do need to get back to surplus and we will see that in the future just beyond the forward estimates.

I look at this budget and I see that this is an appeal to the best of the nature of Australians. This is an appeal to people to say: 'There is a problem and it is all hands on deck. Everybody needs to make a contribution.' It is an appeal to people to say, 'Apart from making that contribution, we must also think about the future in terms of infrastructure, in terms of higher education and in terms of better health outcomes for people around this country.' It is, again, asking people to look beyond their own circumstances and say, 'As part of the Australian team, we need to do things better and we need to look to a better future.'

The Treasurer talks about contributing and building, but part of that is the petrol excise, which will take 40 to 60 cents a week extra from the people who use the roads for better roads. In your own electorate, Deputy Speaker, the Swan Valley Bypass is an important regional road to give business and industrial traffic, commuters and tourists the safer option of bypassing the Swan Valley in moving north onto the Great Northern Highway. All around the country that petrol excise will be used for the betterment of roads and people. Again, if you do not use a car, you will not pay; and so the user is paying.

On the point of the doctor co-payment, $5 of it will go to the Medical Research Future Fund and when that fund reaches $20 billion we will see research from the proceeds into things like diabetes, cancer and dementia. These are great afflictions on Australians. I am sure all members will have had contact with people afflicted by type one diabetes—a young child whose life is made far more difficult or their families woken during the night for the pinpricks on fingers. Then there is the acquisition of the pumps for insulin. It is a hard life, but through this fund we can hopefully get all the tools to beat these disease—type one and type two diabetes and the cancers that ravage so many Australian families. Again, it is asking people to contribute to these greater future outcomes and to build something bigger and better.

On higher education there is a lot of concern. I believe Australia has only one university in the top 20 and only about five in the top 100. Here people are also being asked to contribute to help universities compete in the region and around the world. Why shouldn't more Australian universities be in the top 100 and in the top 20? Why can't Australian universities be among the greatest universities in the world? If there was more money in the Commonwealth coffers, then it might be possible for greater continuing contributions from the government. But I am afraid there is simply not any money any more—again, the $1 billion a month on the credit card—and the options are few. When students are being asked to pay around 50 per cent of their tuition fees, the government is still there with the people. The days of free degrees have passed. Fees have increased over time, and co-payments are the way of the future. People are being asked to contribute to their own education; they will be better off for the outcomes they receive—opportunities and wages from higher qualifications.

It is not unreasonable to ask people to make those sort of contributions, and there is a history of doing so: for HECS fees, co-payments were introduced. There has been something similar to doctor co-payments in the past; there have been co-payments with the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. This is just a continuation of past schemes.

I want to go back to what the opposition has been talking about. There has been a lot said and there have been many questions about $80 billion in education and health cuts and also foreign aid cuts. The opposition has promised to put $80 billion back into education and health and $16 billion into foreign aid. It is clear that that has been promised, and that would of course have to go back onto the bottom line of the budget, should Labor get the opportunity to do that. Unfortunately, what has always been missing is an explanation of how that is going to be paid for. We have been trying to reduce the amount of spending and get back to a budget surplus, so we have put some stuff out there which obviously it has not been popular—there is no doubt about that. Lots of people have concerns, but what we have to think about is the future. Rather than just passing on big debts and deficits to future generations, someone has to actually do something about it. While we did not create the problem we are trying to do something about it.

I note the member for Fremantle spoke about the ABC and the SBS. It is clear that as government agencies or bodies there are no special deals for them. The efficiency dividend is applied to them as it is to every other government agency and body. It is unwise for any government to offer special deals. Again, that is where we were are at.

I should also have mentioned when I was talking about education and health that the health budget will continue to grow, by nine per cent, nine per cent, nine per cent and then six per cent in the fourth year. For schools, it will be eight per cent for the next three years and six per cent after that. So growth is always guaranteed. There is always going to be an increase in spending from the Commonwealth. As we also know, and this is particularly where the rubber hits the road for Western Australia, when we came to office in September the education minister was able to find $1.2 billion that the former government had taken out of education and to put that back in. That benefitted the schools in Western Australia. So, despite what is being said, there continues to be growth in education and health funding and we are continuing to support these areas.

I have noticed that there have been a lot of complaints. In my electorate I have only received 35 emails complaining about the budget, but we have gone back to people and explained what it is about and why we needed to do the things we have done. What concerns me is the violence in protests particularly around universities. There is no problem with protesting, of course, or even showing passion, but violence is deplorable. That is just not the way things should be done.

I would also like to express my concern about how many children are being politically indoctrinated to hold up signs at protests, being dragged along—maybe dragged out of school—to hold up placards when they do not even know what the words say or understand the content or the meaning. I think we occasionally find this when we are out and about in our schools, including in primary schools. I remember one day when I was speaking to a year-4 class that a young boy told me he was on a particular side of politics. He said, 'I am'—I will not mention the party, but he said he was that. I said to him, 'I guess that is the view you have been told. I am a member of the Liberal Party. I am a member of this parliament, and I have two daughters aged 15 and 11. I do not tell them which side they are on.' I think it is very wise for parents around this country to be very careful about trying to impose their views or about dragging their children out to make up the numbers in these sorts of protests. I do not think they should force upon the children of this country a political opinion when they do not have the knowledge or the experience to determine what the issues are for themselves. I think it is pretty much an abuse of children, particularly when we have seen some children holding up signs which use four-letter words; it just goes far too far.

In conclusion, I think we are all elected to do what is right and not what is easy. I will not betray future generations by taking the path of least resistance in this matter. This is a cause worth fighting for and, as I have always believed, if the cause is worth fighting for then I am prepared to risk my seat over it. If I lose my seat for a good cause—for this cause—then that is the way it should be.

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