Guy Barnett (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Chairman of the Scrutiny of Government Waste Committee) Share this | Hansard source

I stand to speak to this motion and, in doing so, want to confirm on the record that the Labor government has failed to deliver. We have the same horse but a different jockey. We have, as Mr Abbott said at lunchtime, the same dud product but a different salesman. Ms Gillard was responsible for four programs in education and child care, and she has manifestly failed in each of them. She has failed to deliver, and I want to mention those four before I move to the area of Indigenous policy. Those four areas in particular relate to Building the Education Revolution.

Ms Gillard was responsible for the school hall rip-off—$16.2 billion was spent on schools, there was a $1.7 billion blow-out and at least $5 billion was wasted. That is $5 billion of taxpayers money that has been wasted through mismanagement, gouging and state government substitution. There was no requirement for value for money. That is a disgrace. Non-government schools, of course, were allowed to self-manage their projects, and they did well. They did get value for money, while government schools were ripped off.

Ms Gillard was also responsible for the computers in schools program, a $1.2 billion blow-out in which 300,000 laptops were delivered out of 970,000 promised. Goodness! She was also responsible for the abolition of the Australian Technical Colleges and the introduction of the trades training centres. There were 2,650 promised in every government secondary school. How many were delivered? Thirteen were delivered, and the program has blown out for longer than it took to prosecute World War II. That is just ridiculous; it is hopeless.

Ms Gillard was responsible for implementing the childcare policy ‘to end the dreaded double drop-off’. That was the policy of Labor in 2007; that was what they said they would deliver. They said that they would deliver 260 childcare centres. How many were delivered? There were 38 delivered, and the promise has now been junked by federal Labor.

Ms Gillard, who is now the Prime Minister, is responsible for those four programs. She has been and is responsible for education and child care, and she has manifestly failed to deliver. So why would you now make her Prime Minister, running this country? I am very concerned for and on behalf of the Australian public. I am very concerned because of the shocking waste and mismanagement that continues to persist throughout this Labor government. Yes, the horse is the same. The Labor government is the same, but we have a new jockey—that is, Ms Gillard. I welcome her to that position but I am very concerned for and on behalf of the Australian people.

This week, with respect to Indigenous policy, the now Gillard Labor government had an opportunity to follow through on passing Mr Abbott’s wild rivers bill. I am very proud to say, as Deputy Chair of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, that this Senate supported our recommendation and passed the wild rivers bill earlier this week. That is great news, so I am now calling on Ms Gillard to immediately pass the Wild Rivers (Environmental Management) Bill 2010. There is still time. She can do it. That was passed in the Senate on Tuesday night, and it provided hope for Indigenous people in Far North Queensland. That is good news for those people in Far North Queensland.

The coalition’s report to the Senate—and I have it here in front of me—is dated June 2010. It is a very good report. Specifically the coalition senators’ report is excellent, because the report and its recommendations in that regard have been accepted by the Senate. Our report argued that there was a breach of statutory process by the Queensland government in 2009 and it confirms that they still have serious questions to answer in Queensland. I will come to that further in a minute.

The current Queensland Wild Rivers Act severely restricts the capacity of Indigenous communities in wild river areas to use, develop and control their land. If the bill is passed by the House of Representatives and supported by Labor it will ensure that Indigenous communities are properly consulted and given the opportunity to achieve a consensus before consenting to the making of any wild river declaration affecting their land. This will certainly increase opportunities for Indigenous people in Far North Queensland. It will give them opportunities to engage in the real economy and to address their related social issues, such as welfare dependence and unemployment, consistent with the objective of closing the gap. The bill, if it is supported by Labor, will provide opportunities for the Indigenous people in these communities to be economically and socially prosperous.

I just want to put on the record my thanks to the coalition senators who participated in this report—my colleagues Senator Russell Trood, Senator Stephen Parry, Senator Ian Macdonald, who has been very feisty in his vigorous support for people in Far North Queensland, and of course National Party Senator Ron Boswell. The bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Nigel Scullion, and he should be congratulated for his efforts in steering the bill through the Senate so successfully.

Amazingly, I have learnt just today through a report in the Australian that the Queensland government have apparently advised that another seven river systems will be added to the wild rivers register.