Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The incorporated speech read as follows—

I am pleased to support the Appropriation Bills Nos 1 and No. 2 and the first Labor Government Budget in more than a decade.

Indeed the Rudd Labor Government used their first budget to deliver on its election commitments to the Australian people and to build strong and secure foundations for our Nations future.

The Government used this year’s budget to deliver some much needed financial relief to working families.

It also used this year’s budget to invest in our Nation’s long term future, establishing a number of funds in the priority areas of infrastructure, health and education.

Therefore this budget effectively delivered a double dividend for working families by providing both immediate relief on the family budget and investing in their long term economic security.

While the Rudd Labor Government used the budget to deliver much needed financial relief for working families and invest in our nation’s long term future it did so responsibly.

The Rudd Labor Government believes in governing for the future—it believes in laying the foundations for the nation’s long-term prosperity.

That is why it used this year’s budget process to rein in unnecessary and wasteful spending by the previous Government, in a bid to tackle inflation and put downward pressure on interest rates.

This budget proves the Government understands the concept of responsible economic management. It understands that it is possible to deliver for Australian families while at the same time pursuing economically responsible policies to tackle inflation and protect our long term future.

Need I remind the chamber that this lies in stark contrast to the previous Howard Government, whose spending habits drove up inflation and which ignored the basic long term needs of many Australians?

Indeed, the spending habits of the previous Howard Government reveal that it had no long term plan for the future or little understanding of the needs of working families.

This is reflected by the fact that when the Howard Government left office last November inflation was at its highest level in 16 years and we had the second highest interest rates among advanced economies.

To add to this, the failure by the Howard Government to invest in essential infrastructure, resulted in the Rudd Labor Government inheriting a nation plagued by a permanent skills crisis and a chronically under funded health and hospitals system.

However, as history demonstrates, the Labor party has never been a party to shy away from the challenges of Government.

Indeed, since being elected last November the Rudd Labor Government has hit the ground running—it has rolled its selves up and got stuck into the business of government and business of building prosperity of our nation’s future.

Our sleeves most definitely are rolled up, Mr President. The measures contained in the Governments first budget prove that.

It proves that this Government is a Government of action and is dedicated to building for our nation’s long term future.

Indeed, this budget contains several “national building” initiatives aimed squarely at re-establishing the key foundations of a strong economy and thus laying the key foundations for Australia’s future.

The Government has taken a strategic approach to the investment of the budget surplus by creating three new funds.

These funds largely address capital shortages resulting from the failure of the Howard government to invest in the important areas of infrastructure, health and of course education.

As a result the Government will invest $40 billion in these priority areas through three primary funds.

These funds include:

Building Australia Fund, which will receive around $20 billion over the next two years to fund shortfalls in the national transport and broadband;

Education Investment Fund, in which the government will invest $5 billion and which will absorb and extend the Higher Education Endowment Fund, bringing the total funding to around $11 billion in this area; and

The Health and Hospitals Fund, to which the Government has allocated $10 billion to help revitalise our public health system and refurbish the nations public hospitals. The fund will also be used to support the development of major medical research facilities and projects.

This is nation building—these measures deliver on our commitment to govern for the Nation’s future.

These measures will help address critical infrastructure shortfalls, they will assist greater access to crucial services and most of all they will help tackle inflation.

Indeed, the Rudd Labor Government’s first budget, brought down just over a month ago, made tackling inflation and bringing the economy under control front and centre.

To this end, the Government used the budget to introduce a number of measures, based upon its five point plan to tackle inflation, including increased investment in infrastructure, and education and training.

For working families this means a double dividend, because not only has the Rudd Labor Government delivered a budget aimed at tackling inflation, it has also delivered a budget that provides some relief to working families when it comes to cost-of-living pressures.

The Rudd Labor Government recognises that families were forced to do it tough under the Howard Government’s twelve years of inaction and families are now faced with housing prices at an all time high and rising petrol and grocery prices as a result of growing inflation.

That is why the Rudd Labor Government, along with delivering a budget that is economically responsible has also delivered a budget aimed at tackling cost of living pressures on families.

The Budget contains $55 billion working Families Support Package, which includes:

$46.7 in tax cuts, which will see families with a single income of $40,000, $1,050 better off a year and families with a combined income of $100,000, where the primary earner’s income is $60,000, $1,650 better off a year;

The introduction of the  Education Tax Refund; which will provide up to $350 per primary school child and up to $750 per child for those currently in receipt of Family Tax Benefit; helping parents with the cost of their kids’ education; and

An increase to the Childcare Tax Rebate from 30 per cent to 50 per cent to be paid quarterly; with the first payment being made to families in October this year. The Government is increasing the amount payable cap from $4354 per child per year to $7,500 per child per year. This measure alone will assist up to 700,000 families a year.

The Budget also importantly catered to the immediate and long term needs of seniors. The Government announced a number of measures with immediate benefits for seniors including:

An increase to the Utilities Allowance from $107.20 to $500.00 per year to be paid quarterly. The second instalment of the allowance is due to paid in the next week or so, as are the bonuses of $500 for seniors, the $1000 for those in receipt of carers payment and $600 for those receiving the carers allowance.

The Government also increased the Telephone Allowance from $88 to $132 per year to assist those with an internet connection to be paid quarterly.

The Labor Government also announced that it will investigate and review the adequacy of current levels of social security benefits received by seniors as part of its comprehensive review of the Australian tax system. The Government plans to release an initial discussion paper on the review as early as July this year.

This move comes off the back of a recommendations made by the Senate Community Affairs Committee to review basic pension levels as part of the recently completed Inquiry into the cost of living pressures on older Australians.

With Housing affordability at an all time high the Rudd Labor Government also used this year’s budget to tackle the issue of housing affordability head on, with the Government announcing a $2.2 billion housing affordability package to assist first home buyers and renters, including enhanced First Home Saver Accounts, a National Rental Affordability Scheme and the Housing Affordability Fund.

These are the actions of a Government that recognises the pressures on working families, seniors and carers and that is genuinely committed to assisting them achieve long term financial security and stability.

Our Government has also in recent times proven that it is serious when it comes to the issue of climate change.

In the lead up to last year’s election, the Rudd Labor Government, unlike the previous Howard Government acknowledged the need to take urgent action on climate change.

The Government, as part of the budget announced $2.3 billion over four years to help tackle climate change-delivering on its pre-election commitments to take real action on in this area.

The $2.3 billion includes:

$1.0 billion to help make Australian’s homes and their communities more energy and water efficient;

$260 million to Australian businesses to reduce their impact on the environment;

$1.7 billion to support Australia’s leading scientists, researches and industry in their work to improve energy efficiency and develop cleaner energy options; and

$459 million to establish the Department of Climate Change to deliver on commitments in this area including a national renewable energy target and an emissions trading scheme.

With the green paper on the emissions trading scheme due to be handed down next month, the Government has wasted little time on taking action to address climate change.

The Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Wong has already openly stated that “climate change is one of the biggest challenges we face as a nation.”

Indeed its impacts threaten not only our economic prosperity, but also our way of life.

While the Minister has also acknowledged that after eleven years of inaction by the previous Government, taking action on this issue will not be easy and it will involve an element of cost, the cost of inaction threatens to be much greater.

Those opposite know this—yet they are already threatening to delay the introduction of the emissions trading scheme.

For eleven long years they failed to act to protect the nations future from the threat of climate change, and now, when action is needed more than ever, they have retreated to the same position.

This proves once and for all that those opposite have been and continue to be climate change sceptics.

Just in the same way that, for eleven long years the opposition failed to act in response to the threat posed by climate change, it also failed to sufficiently fund our now failing health and hospitals system.

After 11 years of neglect there is a desperate need to provide a better health and hospital system for Australians.

This year’s budget delivers on the Rudd Government pre-election health commitments.

The Rudd Labor Government’s first budget saw the creation of a multi-million dollar plan aimed squarely at building a stronger public health system for all Australians.

The $3.2 Billion National Health and Hospitals Plan will ensure Australian families have access to affordable health care by working with the States and Territory Governments for the first time in 12 years.

The Government’s significant long-term commitment to health is nowhere better reflected than in my home state of Tasmania, where it will provide more than $50 million in additional health services.

This significant investment in Tasmanian health services includes, amongst other things:

Up to $15 million to build 4 new GP Super Clinics in Burnie, Devonport, Bellerive and Sorell;

$15m towards the establishment of an Integrated Care Centre in Launceston;

Up to $7.7 million to establish an additional radiation oncology unit in the north or north-west coast;

$3.5m to support the purchase of a PET scanner at Royal Hobart Hospital; and

a share of:

The Government’s investment in the public health system, comes as a welcome relief, especially in my home state of Tasmania, where, in its last five years in office, the Howard Government under funded the public health system by a staggering $70 million.

The Budget also contains a number of significant other measures which directly benefit Tasmanians. These include, amongst other things:

$104 million in road and rail in the 2008-09 year, with more than $450 million in rail and road infrastructure over the next five years. This money is for vital projects such the Bridgewater Bridge upgrade, the Kingston by-pass, the North-East Freight Roads, and the Brighton by-pass. And, in 2008-09 there is $1.2 Million in Black spot road funding and $11.1 million in the roads to recovery program.

There is over $140 million for water infrastructure in Tasmania, including $12 million for the Huon Valley Water Scheme, which will provide clean drinking water to residents that live just 40 minutes to the south of Hobart. There is also $10.5 million for the Clarence Water Re-Use Scheme—a valuable scheme that provides reused water for irrigation.

$12 million to establish a manufacturing centre on the north-west coast to assist Tasmania’s 2,000 small and medium size manufactures become more productive and competitive.

To quote the Tasmanian State Treasurer:

“[The Federal Budget] delivers in the key areas of health, education and infrastructure and will ease the pressure on working families.”

“I am pleased that the Federal Government has recognised the areas of importance to Tasmanians with three special funds for infrastructure, education and health and hospitals.”

Other important Budget measures to benefit Tasmania include:

The establishment of a specialised child care centre for children with autism in the north-west of the state;

$10 million to fund research into the crippling devil facial tumour disease;

$11.5 million for the University of Tasmania to revamp its buildings;

The extension of the Tasmanian freight Equalisation Scheme to cover the cost of freight from King Island to Mainland Tasmania; and

An increase in the vehicle rebate, under the Bass Straight Passenger Subsidy Equalisation Scheme, from $168 to $180 which will benefits tourists travelling to Tasmania as well as Tasmanians heading interstate.

When combined with the Rudd Labor Governments other budget measures aimed at reducing cost-of-living pressures and tackling inflation, this year’s federal budget has been a win, win for the majority of Tasmanians.

While the Rudd Labor Government delivered an economically responsible budget that promised to provide some welcome relief to families when it comes to the household budget, Australian families could be denied such benefits if those opposite have their way.

Right from the word go, Dr Nelson and the federal opposition, faced with poor opinion ratings decided to play politics with several of the Governments budget announcements.

They did so purely in an attempt to score political points rather than advancing the best interests of the Australian people.

Indeed, not content with leaving a legacy, which saw inflation levels at its highest in 16 years, the liberal opposition last week used its numbers in the senate to block a number of crucial budget measures including:

The increase to the Medicare levy threshold, which was set to free around 400,000 from the liability of paying the levy and level a significant number of Australians up to $1,000 better off a year;

The National fuel watch scheme; which would have given motors more control over what they pay at the bowsers;

The luxury car tax;

The amendments to the rules regarding political donations and;

Reforms designed to end financial discrimination against same sex couples.

Adding to this, the opposition is also threatening to delay a number of other crucial budget measures and policy initiatives, including:

The proposed tax increase on ready-to-drink beverages-which gained the support of the Senate Community Affairs Committee in its report, handed down yesterday; and

The emissions trading scheme, which the Government working to a crucial time line of introduction by 2010.

This amounts simply to opposition for opposition’s sake. It is a staged attempt to get short-term political mileage out of key measures designed to protect our long term future.

Indeed the oppositions actions in relation to blocking key budget measures is nothing more than budget vandalism-with no purpose except to delay key measures that would benefit Australian families.

Treasury estimates that the cost of delaying these measures will be $284 million, which will come directly out of the budget surplus. Such a fall in the Budget surplus will result in increased pressure on inflation and interest rates.

Indeed as Senator Evans pointed out last week, that’s the equivalent of taking $13 out of the pockets of each and every Australian.

Australian families have already been forced to do it tough because of eleven years of neglect by the Howard Government, who turned a blind eye to the pressures on inflation, and the impact it was having on the family budget; why should the liberal opposition be allowed to force them to endure more?

Australians should condemn Doctor Nelson and the opposition for putting party politics above their best interests by failing to support measures designed to assist working families and secure our country’s long term economic future.

Overall the Rudd Labor budget delivers something for all: it delivers some much needed relief to working families and it delivers significant investment in our long term future.

I commend this bill to the Senate, and urge those opposite to stop their budget vandalism and support the measures contained in this years budget.