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

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer the Prime Minister to his previous answer where he repeated the mantra to 'work, save and invest'. Is the Prime Minister aware that this is a direct quote from the 1992 document Fightback!, and that the mantra to 'work, save and invest' is part of the economic plan that includes the introduction of a GST on food?

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Corangamite! Members on my left will cease interjecting.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Everybody in this House, and everybody in this country believes that our tax system and our saving system should be designed so as to encourage people to work, to save and to invest. Who would argue with that?

Government members: Labor!

The answer is—my colleagues assist me—Labor. The member for Watson, instead of spending his time actually coming up with some policies that would encourage greater enterprise, greater entrepreneurship, higher savings, better investment, greater business confidence and innovation—instead of coming up with some ideas that would contribute to the public policy debate—what does this poor wretch do? What does he do? He goes back into the library digging through the old records and ploughing through John Hewson's Fightback! I have no criticism of it at all, but I would just say: this is ancient history. I can tell you that on our side of the House, we are not spending any time going through the policies of the Labor Party from 1993. We are concerned with the issues of 2015 and 2030. We are concerned with building the foundations for our future prosperity, not ploughing through political archaeology. Really! The member for Watson should spend his time more fruitfully than this. If he has no imagination at all; if he is so frightened of the future and so anxious about all the things that lie ahead that he is only comfortable living 20 years ago—

Terri Butler (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order under standing order 90. The Prime Minister knows better than to reflect on members in that way.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister is in order. The Prime Minister has the call.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is clearly a great career as an archivist awaiting the member for Watson. He can go back further. There are probably some old policies from the United Australia Party he can dig into! Stanley Melbourne Bruce no doubt had some interesting policies! He can go back to the foundation of the AWU and William Guthrie Spence! Perhaps that is the future for the member for Watson—as a political historian trundling through the dusty, cobwebbed libraries of the past, rather than focusing on the challenges of the future.

Mr Griffin interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Bruce will cease interjecting! The member for Bruce knows I recognise his voice.