Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2014-2015 and cognate bills. There has been a public acknowledgement by the Prime Minister that our government has had a communication problem. I know that actions are more important than words and deeds more than intentions—and goal number one is fixing Labor's mess. Nonetheless, communication is important in getting people onside and for understanding the scale of the task at hand. Put simply, our country, had it been a business, was making a loss, and a substantial loss, every year since the Howard government left office. These accumulated losses have built up into a debt mountain. Unless we have a profit again, our country will never be able to reduce or pay down that debt mountain.

As a Liberal, I know I can trust in the Australian people and speak up and not down to the person in the street. What the Labor party does not get is that there is wisdom in the crowd. Labor is lost in a crowd. It has its head in the clouds and is hopeless when it comes to economic management. Our mandate is to fix that mess, and I am excited about the task. I know that even though the challenges are great the opportunities are even greater. It has never been cheaper to borrow to invest. There has never been a better time to have a go, to invest, to take a risk on a dream.

The coalition is building the digital and physical infrastructure of the 21st century. In my electorate, the Perth Freight Link is a hugely important project that will not only make money for the federal and state governments, but, significantly, this community-requested road will reduce air and noise pollution, decrease average journey times and reduce fatalities on Leech highway by taking large vehicles off Leech Highway altogether. This will be achieved through inventive and innovative new tracking and identification technologies.

We need our fellow countrymen and countrywomen to be excited about the potential of Australia—as excited as those early settlers and as excited as the men who dreamed up the Snowy hydro scheme. As a country we need to get back to doing great and big things. Australia has always been about big things and big ideas. It is said that a crisis is a terrible thing to waste—so let's not.

Now it is a time to look afresh at government support for investment in residential housing stock, through negative gearing and other tax incentives. Government monies need to be directed at sustainable investments that create long-term, local, high-value, high-skill jobs. It is reassuring to know that the coalition is the only administration capable and committed to securing Australia's high-paying, high-value-added manufacturing goods and services.

The quickest, easiest and cheapest way to get the economy growing is to cut red tape. The coalition has already had two very successful red tape repeal days, throwing to the dustbin of history 50,000 pages of outdated and obsolete legislation. Egregious examples of red tape remain, and much work can and will be done.

It is the job of the Prime Minister of the day to be the optimist-in-chief of the country. Australia, with our rich immigrant tapestry of the past and today, has a lot to learn from best practice elsewhere. We should not be afraid to look overseas for ideas. To be truly strong, we first must know our weaknesses. A big, bold idea such as the development of Northern Australia is one thing to do. Why not incentivise investment in science and small business, and especially small tech businesses?

There is no shortage of money in Australia. The high cash savings rate of 10 per cent of weekly income is testament to this. There is no shortage of money in superannuation funds. Compulsory superannuation, itself a big idea and bold move, now encompasses billions and billions of dollars. It also has never been a better time to borrow money internationally. The real cost of borrowing is negligible to negative. We should be targeting returns of five-plus per cent. This target is very low for the normal rate of return associated with investments in research and tech spin-off companies. Indeed, five per cent is low compared with the return that the Future Fund presently enjoys of approximately 13 per cent.

Debate interrupted.

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