Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is interesting to listen to Senator Ludwig talk about economic management and the benefits for families. Like many people in this place, I can recall when the only outing a family could really have under a Labor government was a trip down to the social security office to collect their unemployment cheque. There were not too many restaurants thriving under that circumstance. It was when unemployment in this country was virtually the highest it has been, certainly in recent history. We had interest rates averaging 12½ per cent under the former Labor government. And what do we have now? We have a circumstance where they are playing ‘me too’ politics: ‘We’re just the same on economic and fiscal policy as the Liberal Party, but we’re a little bit better.’ It is simply not going to wash with the Australian people. The Australian people understand that going to Labor in pursuit of economic policy is like having a decaf cappuccino in an attempt to stay awake: it is froth and chocolate, but there is no stimulus at all. Nothing in any of the policies that have been put forward by the Labor Party is going to create a better country or a more prosperous nation.

There are the working families of this country—and I note ‘working families’ because they are working, unlike they were under the Labor administration, when unemployment was so high. They were not working; people were going broke; they could not afford to pay for their homes. In fact, homeownership was terrible under the Labor administration. But today’s working families are awake to the master illusionists on the other side of the chamber. They are the David Copperfields of economic management. They have no policies; they only have smoke and mirrors to say, ‘We’re just like the others, but, trust us, we’re going to be a little bit better.’ How can we trust them when they have objected to every economic reform in this country that has delivered prosperity to so many Australian families? Unemployment is at record lows: 4.3 per cent. Owning a home, going on outings and enjoying the good things that this country offers start with having a job. Jobs mean a lot to families. People have flexibility in their workplace, so they can divide their time between their work and their family commitments. It allows flexibility so that people can enjoy everything that this country has to offer.

Of course, we have heard a lot today about interest rates. As I said, interest rates are lower under this government, and, since we took office, the official cash rate is still a full 100 basis points—that is, a full percentage point—lower than when we took office. This is after 11 years of sustained economic growth, where net household wealth has increased, the percentage of debt on housing assets has decreased, more people than ever before in this country have work, and people recognise that this legacy of prosperity can set us up for another decade of wealth accumulation in Australia. But only a coalition government can actually deliver on those sorts of reforms. Only the coalition has an agenda that is going to set up this country for another decade of sustained economic growth.

So, rather than the ‘me too’ politics, the Kevin-come-lately politics of Kevin07, there is now a clear choice for the Australian people. They can go with the unreliable Labor people who have objected to every significant economic reform. I think it was Senator Ludwig’s father who described it as the worst caucus he had ever seen—or was that last year’s caucus? I cannot remember; there have been so many. Nonetheless, the same faces are there. They keep trotting them out because of their union mandated quotas. It is very sad that the Labor Party have not managed to evolve over the time, but the Liberal Party and the coalition government have. We are still setting a sustainable agenda. Our approach is not simply about housing affordability; it is about ensuring that people have well-paying jobs, lifting real wages and keeping interest rates lower than they would ever be under a Labor government.

What about the Labor Party’s response to housing affordability: ‘Let’s spend some more money and create another central housing commission.’ Nineteen-fifties central planning went out of the window in the 1950s. I know it is alive and well on the front bench of the Labor Party, but, really, the economic debate has moved on. Today is about giving people choice and opportunity, and only a coalition government is equipped to do that and deliver. (Time expired)