House debates

Thursday, 4 April 2019

Questions without Notice

Morrison Government

3:09 pm

Photo of Jane PrenticeJane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, will you please advise the House how this government has delivered on its promises to the Australian people?

Photo of Scott MorrisonScott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

I thank the member for Ryan for her question and for her service to the Australian people as the member for Ryan.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting

Photo of Tony SmithTony Smith (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

Members on my left!

Photo of Scott MorrisonScott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

When our government came to office in 2013, the pledge was very straightforward: we said we would stop the boats; we said we would abolish the carbon tax; we said we would build the infrastructure of the 21st century; and we said we would bring the budget back to surplus.

Dr Chalmers interjecting

Photo of Tony SmithTony Smith (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

The member for Rankin is warned.

Photo of Scott MorrisonScott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

On all these counts we have been successful in meeting our commitments to the Australian people. That is in stark contrast to what happened back in 2007 when the people of Australia chose to go on a different path and elect a Labor government. And I can tell you that the decision they made in 2007 they have paid for for a decade because of the fiscal recklessness of the former Labor Party. We have stopped the boats and we have ensured they have remained stopped. But the Labor Party have still learnt none of the lessons of their failures in border protection when they were in office. Only a few months ago they came into this place and voted to weaken our borders.

Opposition members interjecting

Photo of Tony SmithTony Smith (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

Members on my left will put their props down.

Mr Hill interjecting

The member for Bruce will leave under 94(a).

The member for Hill then left the chamber.

Ms Kearney interjecting

The member for Batman will leave under 94(a).

The member for Batman then left the chamber.

Photo of Scott MorrisonScott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

It was a carbon tax that the Labor Party said they would never introduce when they went to an election. They then did exactly the opposite thing, and it took this government to abolish that carbon tax.

But what do we learn now? The Leader of the Opposition wants to bring the carbon tax back in the form of his reckless emission targets that will put up the price of everything. Under the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister, we are building the infrastructure of the 21st century, managing our population growth into the future, and ensuring that our rural centres are connected with our major centres and that people can get home sooner and safer through our congestion-busting fund.

On Tuesday night, for the first time in 12 years, we were able to bring the budget back into a surplus, back in the black. Labor is still in the red. That's what we're seeing, and that's what you'll see tonight. Our budget is back into the black. The last time the Labor Party saw a budget surplus, as we know, was in 1989. The Leader of the Opposition—I don't know what his hairstyle was like back then, but he was running around, I know, at those Labor vanguard conferences at the time, whipping it up with his friends at parties and goodness knows what. That was the last time that we saw a budget surplus delivered by the Labor Party. But under this government that surplus has been achieved, the boats have been stopped, the carbon tax has been abolished and we're building the infrastructure of the 21st century.

Photo of Tony SmithTony Smith (Speaker) Share this | | Hansard source

The Prime Minister's time has expired.

Photo of Scott MorrisonScott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | | Hansard source

On that note I ask that further questions be put on the Notice Paper.