Andrew Charlton (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No. 3) Bill 2023 is important. It's a bill that makes significant changes, including in the world of advice, I've been listening to the debate this morning. I listened to the contributions of the member for Bradfield and the member for Forde who gave some cautious support to elements of the bill, but they said the problem with this bill is that it doesn't address the great challenges of our time. They said it didn't address rising inflation. It doesn't address rising interest rates. It doesn't address the issues in superannuation. Well, it's fair to say that the member for Bradfield does not understand the purpose of this bill and probably doesn't understand treasury bills at all. This bill is not designed to end inflation. It is not designed to reform the Reserve Bank. It is not designed to deliver world peace. It is designed to make important changes that have been outlined by the previous speakers. Not only does the other side of this House not seem to understand this bill; they don't seem to have much understanding of the economy overall.

Here we are, 12 months into their period in opposition, and it's an opportune moment to have a look back on the record of the Liberals in opposition. What have been the highs and lows of their economic policy performance as an opposition over the last 12 months? Let's have a look at their record, and, for the benefit of those listening, I've helpfully put it into a list of the 10 greatest hits of the Liberals economic policy while in opposition.

The first of these greatest hits, of course, is their attempts to blame the inflation problem on Labor. Let's be very clear about this: inflation began on the Liberals' watch. They started it, and we are fixing it. Inflation is a serious problem. It hurts the people who can't make their budgets stretch any further the most. It hurts first home buyers. It hurts people who are struggling with high rents. It hurts people who have already experienced low wages growth over last 10 years. But what has caused prices to rise, what has lifted the CPI over the last 12 months and more has been a range of factors that began well before this government took office. In fact, the CPI rising cycle began in 2020, well before this government was elected. At that point, the level of the CPI was 114.4, and it rose 12 points from that point to 126.1 at the time of the last federal election. Then it rose a further six points to 232.6 today. As of this point in the current inflationary cycle, 12 points of the increase happened when the Liberals were in government, and six happened while Labor has been in government. You can see the math, Deputy Speaker Georganas. The CPI began rising under the Liberals. It was caused by factors that were generated under the Liberals, and most of the increase that we've seen to date occurred under the Liberals. That's the first of the greatest hits of the Liberals' economic policy in opposition—their attempt to blame Labor for rising inflation.

No. 2, of course, is their attempt to blame rising interest rates on Labor. They claim that the government's fiscal policy has been contributing to higher inflation and high interest rates. The answer here is clearly no. Labor's budget was remarkably prudent. Labor banked 99 per cent of its revenue increases as savings in its first budget, significantly more than the previous coalition budget of 40 per cent and more than the average of the Howard government at 30 per cent.

And I'm being generous here; I'm not going to refer to the savings record of the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison governments because it was atrocious. Even the Howard government had an average saving of the significant revenue bumps that it got through the mining boom of 30 per cent, well below the level of savings that Labor has delivered.

In addition, this government's budget has put real spending essentially flat over the forward estimates, and, in affirming Australia's AAA credit rating, all agencies have made mention of Australia's prudent fiscal policy. Indeed, the IMF said that our budget approach 'will help support monetary policy in holding back excess demand'. On top of that, there's evidence in the data that the rate of inflation is moderating. So it takes great chutzpah to claim that this government is causing inflation and causing interest rates to rise through fiscal policy when our approach has been prudent, our spending has been restrained, and their approach left us with $1 trillion in debt.

That's No. 2. No. 3 of the Liberals' greatest hits on economic policy in their first 12 months of opposition was a little one but one of my favourites, and that, of course, was not knowing the price of vegemite. Everybody knows that in the last session the shadow Treasurer messed up, that he did not know the price of vegemite. Everyone saw him confuse the annual rate with the monthly rate, which is a big gaff. But it's more than a gaff; it speaks to an opposition which is seriously out of touch with the concerns of the Australian people, which actually doesn't know the real impact at the front line of inflation, which doesn't understand the impact that it has on families.

The fourth one, of course, is their response to Labor's economic performance, particularly Labor's budget surplus. This one has seen them do a bit of squirming, and I can see why. After 10 years of failing to deliver a fiscal surplus, it must be so painful to watch Labor deliver a fiscal surplus in its first year—to be the custodians of Menzies's bark, over there, the party of fiscal discipline, the party that likes to think as they go to bed at night that they can deliver surpluses. Well, unfortunately, not only were they not able to deliver a surplus; they had to watch the Labor government deliver a surplus in its first 12 months.

The fifth element of the coalition's greatest hits in economic policy in their first 12 months of opposition was their opposing of the changes to the PRRT. Not only did they not help us achieve a surplus, not only have they been complaining about fiscal settings; they've also been, somewhat contradictorily, opposing the savings measures of the government, and my favourite of all the measures that they have opposed—although it is a contested field—is the changes to the PRRT. Such is their commitment to fiscal discipline and budget repair they oppose this revenue measure which was not only supported by the government but supported by the industry. It takes a certain complexion of fiscal discipline to be wanting to hand money to industry groups that don't want you to give them that money. That's not a hallmark of fiscal prudence; that is a sign of profligacy. Indeed, the Industry Group's chief executive Samantha McCulloch said, of the changes to the PRRT:

The changes aim to get the balance right between the undeniable need for a strong gas sector to support reliable electricity and domestic manufacturing for decades to come and the need for a more sustainable national budget.

Samantha McCulloch was happy to support these changes and felt that they got the balance right for her industry. The Liberal Party was not so happy. They wanted to give that money back. Such is their commitment to fiscal discipline, they will give you public money whether you want it or not!

The sixth one, of course, in the list of the greatest economic hits of the Liberals in opposition has been the employment record. Unfortunately, we're heading into further sore-point territory here. We've heard them talk about 'jobs, jobs, jobs' for decades, but the record of jobs under this government speaks for itself. Last week's data from the ABS showed that nearly 76,000 jobs were added to the economy last month. The same report showed unemployment dropping to just 3.6 per cent, which is only slightly higher than the 48-year low of 3.4 per cent, also set, I might add, by this government in October 2022.

The same report showed unemployment dropping to just 3.6 per cent, which is only slightly higher than the 48-year low of 3.4 per cent also set, I might add, by this government in October 2022. Unfortunately, this makes difficult reading for the Liberals and their economic policy in opposition, because despite all their criticisms, despite all their predictions at the Jobs and Skills Summit, which they failed to attend, all of their predictions of calamity and disaster coming from Labor's policies, which they have needlessly opposed, the record speaks for itself—an outstanding job creation record. In fact, it is the strongest jobs growth of any first-year government on record. It makes it difficult, I imagine, to be arguing that Labor's policies are delivering ruin and wreckage to the economy in the face of such an outstanding set of numbers. Here we have an opposition that has to make arguments in the face of the strongest employment record of any new first-year government in history and the delivery of a budget surplus that they themselves were unable to deliver in 12 months. It makes it tough going for them, and I wish I could say they had ridden through that but, unfortunately, they have not. Which brings us to No. 7.

The seventh greatest hit of the Liberals in opposition, which is a small one but a goodie, one for the aficionados, is for not knowing Australia is not in the G7. The shadow Treasurer keep saying that Australia has the highest inflation of the G7. Of course, not only is that not true, but somebody does need to tell the shadow Treasurer that we are not actually in the G7.

The eighth of the Liberals' greatest hits of economic policy in opposition is their response on superannuation. We have had a wave of misinformation on this topic. It is a good one for the Liberal Party because, again, it gives them an opportunity to fight for a group of people who nobody feel sorry for. But they have said that superannuation is not a piggy bank. The shadow Treasurer, the member for Hume, said 'Super is not a piggy bank for Labor's pet projects. It is your money, not the government's.' The member for New England backed him in. He has never seen a scare campaign he did not like. He saw an opportunity here and he said, 'Labor is decreeing that your super will elevate and broaden in its purpose,' but what he wants is for this super policy to make sure that your super looks after Labor objectives.

According to the ABC fact check unit, 'There is no suggestion that money will be taken out of super accounts to support the budget or that super funds will be forced to invest in specific Labor projects.' That is a big negative from the ABC fact check unit. It has not slowed those opposite down, of course. They continue to claim that Labor's policies for super will undermine it. But the question becomes: Who has actually been undermining super in Australia? The real disrespect for Australian super came in the last couple of years, when those opposite put out a press release in the height of COVID, during which they allowed a policy for people to take superannuation out of their accounts. In doing so they created a giant sucking sound underneath the Australian superannuation system that led to $36 billion being removed from super accounts and, in many cases, eradicating the entire balance of many Australian's superannuation accounts. They had so few checks and balances on it that when reviews were done they found that most of the people who took that money out were either not unemployed or many of them had not even had a reduction to their income. They created a huge open door in the superannuation system and watched as money flowed out. Of course, they did that in an attempt to stimulate the economy, in an attempt to alleviate hardship, but the policy was so ham-fisted that it did not so much alleviate hardship as transfer hardship from one point in someone's life to another point, to the point of retirement, where those people who were encouraged and enabled to withdraw their superannuation will now with retire with a far smaller superannuation account, costing them tens of thousands of dollars.

Let's get to No. 9, the productivity record of the opposition. Those opposite left Australia with the lowest productivity rate in decades. They delivered next to zero economic reform in the nine years they were in government yet they have the gall to come into this House and complain about the low level of productivity growth, productivity that operates and is measured with a lag. The low level of productivity today speaks uniquely to their record over the last 10 years. It is this government that is investing in infrastructure, this government that is investing in education and investing in competition changes to lift productivity.

Finally, No. 10, the 10th element of the greatest hits of the Liberals in opposition, the crowning glory of their 12 months on those benches, is their record on energy prices. We all have to come into this parliament, boring as it is, each question time and listen to the opposition's questions on energy prices. It's always the same question—it's a little like Groundhog Day: 'Why are energy prices going up?' This is the height of hypocrisy.

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