Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the appropriation bills before the House, Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2017-2018 and the related bills, which will actively ensure fairness, opportunity and security for all Australians. I would like to formally congratulate the Treasurer on his commitment to delivering such a budget—a budget which includes some tough choices that are indeed the right choices to secure days ahead. Few people know the work that goes into delivering a budget, so I would like to commend and congratulate the Treasurer, the Prime Minister, the Minister for Finance and the respective officers for all their efforts.

I noted in the chamber last week, during the last sitting, that this budget was the 10th budget I have been privileged to see delivered here in the Parliament of Australia during my time as the federal member for Swan. It is a bit of deja vu because the first appropriation bills speech I did was in this very chamber. The member for Melbourne Ports was in the chamber at the same time, with the former member for Oxley. They toasted me after my speech and said it was the worst speech they had ever heard from a new member. But I am still here, Member for Melbourne Ports, and that brings back fond memories of being in this place and doing appropriation bills speeches over the years.

Before the member for Brand leaves—and I know she will be a good member because the former member for Brand told me that she would be a very good member for Western Australia and for Brand—I would remind her that in 2007 there was an election commitment from Labor, by Kevin Rudd, that promised to fix the GST. He also promised a $100 million infrastructure fund for Western Australia which never came. It never appeared. You have a very short memories. I just remind you. You mentioned it in your speech, so I am mentioning it in my speech.

Bearing in mind that six out of those 10 years were during the Rudd-Gillard years, when the budget was in the hands of the member for Lilley—and I am sure all Australians remember just how well that worked out—it is with great enthusiasm that I stand and get a chance to speak on another coalition government budget which is determined to deliver for all Australians. This week—Monday, in fact—marked the 75th anniversary of the great Sir Robert Menzies's famous Forgotten People speech. As our longest serving Prime Minister and a key figure in shaping our Australian postwar society, Menzies's insight still rings true. I would like to share part of that speech with the chamber. He said:

But I do not believe that we shall come out into the overlordship of an all-powerful State on whose benevolence we shall live, spineless and effortless - a State which will dole out bread and ideas with neatly regulated accuracy; where we shall all have our dividend without subscribing our capital; where the Government, that almost deity, will nurse us and rear us and maintain us and pension us and bury us; where we shall all be civil servants, and all presumably, since we are equal, heads of departments.

I find that it not only eloquently articulates our Aussie values but also encapsulates the decisions made in this budget—decisions which favour hardworking Australians and decisions which enable us to guarantee the essential services that Australians rely on.

This rings true for the people of Swan and across the great state of Western Australia. For years, our state benefitted from the mining boom, with the investment phase bringing much growth to our state. Now we have transitioned into much broader-based growth in our economy. As we do this, our nation's economy is still continuing to grow faster than every G7 economy, and our growth remains above the OECD average, which is a positive reflection on our transition.

But, in WA, times have been tough. Not everyone has been able to share in our nation's growth, and some have faced mounting financial pressures. As a result, and rightly so, the GST is always a bone of contention for us Western Australians. With the mining boom over, it's difficult to watch most of the GST earned in Australia head to the eastern states. I have noted before in the chamber that the current rate, about 34 cents in the dollar, is a hard pill to swallow. Over recent times, we have seen Labor and the local rags in my electorate and Western Australia come out to attack my fellow WA Liberals, members and senators, for not being active enough in fixing the state's share of the GST.

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