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

In rising to take note of answers to questions, I feel I must comment immediately on what Senator Sterle has just said. Senator Sterle told this Senate that he remembers what it was like to pay the enormous mortgage rates that he alleges were under the treasurership of now Prime Minister Howard. The difficulty I have with that is that mortgage rates were fixed under both Mr Fraser’s prime ministership and Mr Whitlam’s prime ministership. Under fixed mortgage rates, which were centrally set, there is simply no way that people were paying 22 per cent on their housing mortgages. It is simply not true.

I would also like to go back to the economic record that is being addressed. When Mr Whitlam took over as Prime Minister of this country inflation was around eight per cent. Within three years inflation was around 17 or 18 per cent. This is what a Labor government does to the economy. In three short years Labor can wreck and destroy an economy. And once again, like always, when they do it there is no responsibility for it—they are in complete denial. Senator Sterle mentioned denial. I am telling you that denial in the Labor Party is as long as the Nile River. They destroy an economy and then they ask for the coalition, the conservatives, the good economic managers, to come in and fix it up. It is a scary proposition, because every time we have to mop up Labor’s mess, both at a state and a federal level, it takes us far longer to do it. Their record is one of $8 billion deficits compared with the coalition’s $10 billion annual surpluses. Labor left a $96 billion black hole. The architect of that black hole was the Placido Domingo of politics—that’s right: the incredibly popular Mr Keating—and the incredibly popular Mr Beazley. They all plotted to get rid of him to install Mr Rudd. Mr Rudd was described as ‘disloyal’ and ‘a notorious leak’ and ‘incredibly unreliable’ by a former leader of the Labor Party, Mr Latham. Mr Latham is no character reference for anybody, in my opinion, but the fact is that he reported all these off-the-record conversations that took place. How did they feel about that? It is simply inappropriate.

Mr Costello made it very clear today that he had an off-the-record conversation with some journalists—and I respect that. That shows the integrity of our profession. We talk about things in any manner, shape or form, and we often say things that, in the clear light of day, we may like to reconsider. We all have these conversations—because we are all human—and to have them exploited for cheap political stunts is really very disappointing. To listen to the bile, spray and diatribe that erupts from the other side is very frustrating for the people of Australia. I look up to the gallery and I see these wonderful young kids who come here to see how the parliament of Australia operates and how we are working for their futures—and what do we hear in this place? We hear this relentless pursuit of nothing. Those kids must be thinking, ‘My goodness, what are my parents getting for their taxpayer dollars?’ And when they look at the Labor Party, they say, ‘We don’t want to pay more tax for you lot.’ Let me tell the people of Australia—and the children who are up there in the gallery today should listen to me now—that, if the Labor Party get into government, taxes are always going to be higher, interest rates are always going to be higher and accountability of public spending is always going to be worse in this country. We cannot risk it. We need to sustain the prosperity for our nation. To listen to those opposite is disheartening for every young person in this nation who aspires to a better life for themselves and their family.