John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to make some comments on the handout to the carers and pensioners announced by the government today. I welcome it very much. It was on 4 September that I issued a media release calling on the government to give a one-off catch-up payment, as I called it, to all pensioners and carers. I knew, from the pensioners and many other carers phoning and coming into my office, how tough they were doing it and how they were battling with the cost of living. I think it is a good thing to see today these people being treated with some sort of respect. As I said just a few weeks ago in my maiden speech, that is especially so for our elderly pensioners. They have earned a rise in the pension and they deserve it. We owe a lot to them for what they have done for us and for the magnificent country we have inherited today.

A lot of people from the government side say, ‘What did the coalition ever do about pensioners when they were in government for 11½ years?’ I should remind them that the coalition were the government that tied the single pension to 25 per cent of average male earnings. And, over the 11½ years when the coalition were in government, male wages increased by 20 per cent in real terms—probably 20 times higher than under the previous government, prior to 1996. The coalition did an extremely good job of increasing pensions during their period, as well as introducing one-off payment systems.

The payments we see today will be very welcome for those battlers out there. Mr Rudd promised before the election that he would put downward pressure on grocery prices. Well, we know that that is a farce and that millions of dollars have been wasted on what you might call a stupid website—GROCERYchoice. He also said that he would put downward pressure on fuel prices. Of course we have seen little of that, despite the price of oil going from US$147 a barrel at its peak to just $79 or $80 in today’s prices. I am pleased with what the coalition did for our pensioners and, as I said, I welcome what the government has done today.

This has all come about because of one thing. It is easy for the government to stand up and say, ‘We’re going to spend $10.4 billion,’ et cetera, but they should just think about where they got it from. They were left a massive surplus by the previous government, which paid off $96 billion in debt. I have a little chuckle each time members of the government talk about the surplus that they have ‘built’. It is a surplus they inherited, not one that they have built. The word ‘surplus’, I am sure, cannot be defined or explained by anyone in the Labor Party—look back at their record of managing money, whether in New South Wales, Victoria or South Australia, in the late eighties or the nineties and at that disastrous 1983 to 1996 period of the Hawke-Keating era. The surplus that they have ‘built’, as they say, was simply inherited from the previous good fiscal management policy of the previous government.

It is because of that surplus that we are now able to care for those battling the most in our community. That is the result of the government’s decision today. Hence, I congratulate them on that decision. It has been a long time coming. Even in my short time in this chamber, it has been obvious that arrogance does flourish. There are good ideas from all sides of the House. I suppose that is nothing new—it has probably been going on in this place for decades. But I wish politics were such that when good ideas do come forward both sides would listen to them, because I am sure that both sides have a contribution to make, and surely there can be good ideas from both sides of the chamber.

I congratulate the government. This will stimulate the economy. There will be money out there to spend. Those most in need will be able to pay some bills. There will be jubilation amongst hundreds of thousands of Australians today at this announcement. I look forward to seeing some boost in the economy, especially for our small businesses, who are in desperate need, especially in country areas where we have suffered drought since early 2002. I can see that there will be a lot of good to come out of this and a lot of relief for those strugglers and I look forward to seeing some brighter spots, especially around the rural areas, in the near future.

Question agreed to.