Peter Hendy (Eden-Monaro, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to discuss a matter of keen interest to people in my electorate. It is very important to distinguish between the two distinct phases of the coalition's economic management in this all-important first term. The two phases are immediate budgetary repair and reform—firstly, budgetary repair. It is instructive to think of the Australian economy following the fiscal recklessness of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd Labor governments as a trauma patient. The severity of injuries of a major trauma case requires immediate and effective treatment not only to keep a patient alive but to reduce the healing time from injury.

Under the policies of the former Labor government Australia was on a trajectory of having $5.6 trillion of debt by 2055. That is a net-debt-to-GDP ratio of 122 per cent. To put that in perspective, that is slightly below that of Greece and above that of Spain today. We needed to move quickly and effectively. Trauma medicine often uses the term 'golden hour.' It refers to that period after a major trauma when urgent and effective care must be given to patients in order to increase their survivability and reduce healing time. The coalition has concluded the 'golden hour' of care for the Australian economy. It has staunched the blood loss and stabilised the patient. We have taken many hard decisions, made many difficult choices and produced dramatic outcomes.

As a result of measures already implemented by the coalition, our debt level has been halved to around 57.2 per cent of GDP by 2055, or around $2.6 trillion. However, there is much more to do. We can now get on with providing long-term care for the economy. This is where we can implement important strategic reform that is warranted not as a budgetary measure but because it is the right direction for the nation's future: making the necessary changes that will keep expenditure and payments sustainable, making the necessary changes that will engage and remove the barriers to participation by two of the mainstays of our workforce—that is, women and older Australians—and ensuring our youth have adequate access to jobs.

These strategic changes will deliver an economy that has capacity to weather strong headwinds should they emerge in the future. We will do this in an analytical way, we will do this in a methodical way and we will do this in a determined way. The Australian economy has passed the initial crisis. The coalition has dramatically altered the trajectory of Australia's economy. The 'golden hour' is over, and we have salvaged an economy on the edge and tracking towards disaster to an economy with the capacity for growth and strength and well placed to face the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities for future generations. On the ground, that helps us pay for the things that the people of Eden-Monaro need and want.