Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Vocational Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Today, Prime Minister, is National TAFE Day, when we mark the opportunities and training that these important institutions provide for so many young Australians starting out in the workforce. Why, then, is the Prime Minister determined to destroy opportunities for Australia's 400,000 apprentices by cutting almost $1 billion from the Tools for Your Trade program?

Government Members:

Government members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There will be silence on my right. The Prime Minister has the call.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like the member who was asked the question, I value and appreciate the great work that our tradies do. I appreciate the need for proper training systems. The problem is that—

Mr Perrett interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Moreton is not beginning well.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

for all their talk, members opposite were much better at spending money than they were at getting a result. Under the policies of members opposite, some 50 per cent of apprentices never completed their training. So what we want is a better training system.

Ms Macklin interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There will be silence from the member for Jagajaga.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members opposite actually cut $2.4 billion for skills training in the 2012 MYEFO. Members opposite promised 2,650 trade training centres. They delivered fewer than 350 of those.

Ms Owens interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Parramatta will desist.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to assure the House that, under this government, money will be invested sensibly and good results will be achieved. We will spend some $5 billion on training over the forward estimates period. Very importantly, we will be giving trainees access to trade support loans because they deserve support on the same basis that university students have. We want a fair system, a good system, a flexible system and a productive system. That is what people will get under this government.

Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister explain how addressing the debt and deficit mess inherited by this government will strengthen the economy and help families in Capricornia and the rest of the country?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Capricornia for her question. It is an excellent question. I can assure her that this government were elected to do a number of very important things. We were elected to scrap the carbon tax, because that will save households $550 a year. We were elected to stop the boats, because that will stop the deaths and also save some $2.5 billion over four years. We were elected to build the infrastructure of the 21st century, because, thanks to the neglect of state Labor governments, Australia's roads have been turned into the world's longest parking lot. We were elected above all else to clean up Labor's budget mess—

Mr Dreyfus interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Isaacs will desist.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

which had given us the sixth biggest deficits in history, deficits stretching out as far as the eye can see and debts peaking at $670 billion. As a result of Labor's budget mess, the Commonwealth is currently borrowing $1 billion every single month. We are borrowing $1 billion every single month just to pay the interest on Labor's debt. That is dead money.

Think what we could do if we were not paying $1 billion every single month just to cover the interest on Labor's debt. Within a year we could fully fund the upgrade of the Bruce Highway. Within two months we could fully fund the Toowoomba range crossing. Within three months we could pay for the Western Sydney infrastructure package. Within six months we could fund the duplication of the Pacific Highway. In over 12 months we could fund the East West Link in Melbourne. In one month we could fund the north-south road in Adelaide. In a month we could fund the Gateway Motorway upgrade in Brisbane. In just two weeks we could fund the Midland Highway project in Tasmania. In less than a week we could fund the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. In less than a month we could fund the Perth Gateway and in another month we could more than fund the Swan Valley bypass.

Mr Albanese interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Grayndler will desist.

Mr Albanese interjecting—

The member for Grayndler is warned.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I say to the member for Grayndler that the Labor Party were economic vandals in office and in opposition they are even worse. The Leader of the Opposition is groaning and moaning on the other side of the ministerial table. He is all complaint and no solution. Members opposite stand for bigger deficits, more debt and open borders.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. The very last day before the last election the Prime Minister promised Australians no cuts to education, no cuts to health and no changes to pensions. Now that the Prime Minister has cut $80 billion from schools and hospitals and has cut indexation to carers, veterans and pensioners, did the Prime Minister seriously expect the people of Australia to believe him when he said yesterday, 'This is an honest budget'?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is the right budget for Australia because it tackles Labor's debt and deficit disaster. As for the figure that the Leader of the Opposition bandies about, I challenge him to produce one of the Labor Party's budgets which has that figure in it. I challenge the Leader of the Opposition to come up with a single Labor budget with that figured in it.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, on a point of order on relevance, there is a request to the Prime Minister for authentication. He has to look at his own budget documents for the cut. Labor never made that cut.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order. The member will resume his seat. The Prime Minister has the call.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no cut because there was no budget that contained it from members opposite.

Mr Burke interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

the Leader of the Opposition is abusing the standing orders, and he knows it and will not do it again.

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no Labor budget that made the commitment that the Leader of the Opposition refers to. This was a pie-in-the-sky, undeliverable promise from the Labor Party, that was never contained in any single budget. When it comes to schools, let me be very clear, there is an eight per cent increase this year, an eight per cent increase next year, an eight per cent increase the year after that, and a six per cent increase in the final year. When it comes to public hospitals, there is a nine per cent increase this year, a nine per cent increase next year, a nine per cent increase the year after that, and a six per cent increase in the final year.

Honourable members interjecting—

On the question of indexation, members opposite changed the indexation of the family tax benefit from male total average weekly earnings to CPI. Members opposite demonstrated by their actions that the CPI is a fair indexation system. If it was fair for members opposite to do it for the family tax benefit, it is fair for this government to do it to other benefits. If it was fair for Labor to do it, it is fair for the coalition to do it. This is a fair budget, an honest budget, and above all else, it is the right budget for Australia because it deals with Labor's debt and deficit disaster. We have our plan to deal with Labor's debt and deficit disaster. We have demonstrated how we are going to clean up Labor's mess. It is about time that Labor demonstrated how they will clean up the mess they created.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, on a point of order—and I did not want to interrupt the Prime Minister during his answer—trying to hear the Prime Minister's response was almost impossible on this side of the House because of the wall of noise coming from the empty vessels on that side of the House. I would ask you to assist at least the electors of Australia to be able to hear the answers from the Prime Minister without the empty vessels opposite making so much noise.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the opposition, we have the same trouble with the cheering that goes on from their back bench.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat. There will be silence so that we can hear the member for Wright who has been given the call.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have an excellent question to deliver to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer explain to the House how repairing the budget mess that this government inherited will change the Australian economy for the better into the future?

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Wright for that question. He is an indefatigable advocate for good economic policy. He has been in the door on regular occasions and has been a strong advocate for government to live within its means. As the Prime Minister just said, this is a very fair budget and a very honest budget. I know that comes as a rude shock to the Labor Party given they delivered six budgets in a row from the member for Lilley, that were both unfair and dishonest. No budget could be more dishonest than the one delivered by the member for Lilley when he claimed that he was announcing on that night four budget surpluses in a row. We miss you, Swannie! Now of course he is writing a book—or actually, the Parliamentary Library is writing a book on his behalf—and we look forward to the wisdom that comes from that book.

The legacy of six years of Labor was $667 billion of debt, if no action is taken. Somehow they tend to believe that a number like that is pretty irrelevant—$667 billion with no surpluses on the horizon. The interest that the Australian people would pay on that $667 billion would be $3 billion a month. Currently, we are paying $1 billion a month, but the legacy of Labor waste and expenditure lifted it to $3 billion a month, and 70 per cent of that goes to people living overseas because they are the people that have lent us the money.

There has been a lot of debate about whether it is a budget emergency or a budget crisis, so I want to go—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They are laughing! I am glad they are because I just want to cite someone very close to the Labor Party. That is why Swannie has got his head down—and you should all learn from him. The Reserve Bank of Australia board member John Edwards, principal adviser to Paul Keating and appointed by the Labor Party to the Reserve Bank, said yesterday:

I’ve no doubt there is a budget crisis—

Hello, someone in the Labor Party that understands economics knows that it is a budget crisis! He went on:

We’re accumulating debt as a higher share of GDP and of course in absolute terms, [it’s] absolutely astronomical compared to far more serious episodes in Australian history, including recoveries from serious recessions.

If we do not do something about the debt and deficit legacy of Labor, we will face a crisis in Australia. In fact a Reserve Bank board member appointed by the Labor Party says that it exists now so to Labor I say: get out of the way and let us fix the budget!

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to the Prime Minister's last answer and his continued denials that he is cutting health and education. Yesterday the New South Wales treasurer said that the Prime Minister's cuts to schools and hospitals are 'leaving the states $80 billion worse off'. Why is the Prime Minister continuing to deceive Australians about his $80 billion cuts to schools and hospitals?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has asked me about the New South Wales budget, because the budget that the New South Wales treasurer has brought down is a very good budget. It builds on the outstanding work of the former treasurer, now Premier Mike Baird, who is really doing very good work indeed. Commonwealth funding to New South Wales is increasing by $5.8 billion thanks to the budget that we brought down. Commonwealth spending to New South Wales is up by $5.8 billion thanks to the budget that this Commonwealth government brought down a few weeks ago, and that is $1.4 billion more than would have been the case under the policies of members opposite. Right around this country, thanks to the budget that we brought down, the states will be $9 billion better off over the next four years. This is a bonanza for the state governments under this government; it is an infrastructure bonanza. It is not just unsustainable recurrent spending, because this government is shifting spending out of short-term consumption and into long-term investment, because that is what we want to do. We want to build a strong and prosperous economy so that over the long term our country will be safe and secure.

Again, for the benefit of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, in New South Wales, year on year, hospital funding grows by eight per cent, 10 per cent, 10 per cent and eight per cent. In New South Wales, year on year, schools funding grows by seven per cent, eight per cent, nine per cent and six per cent. This Commonwealth government is investing $15 billion in infrastructure in New South Wales. I am very proud of that, because there is a terrible infrastructure gap in New South Wales because of the neglect of members opposite. Because of the neglect of members opposite, roads in Sydney are some of the world's longest car parks. Well, that is going to change under this government. I am determined to be the infrastructure Prime Minister, and I am proud that with the help of this government Mike Baird will be the infrastructure Premier.