Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

And do you know, Senator Polley, it is a tax that you can run from but most certainly cannot hide from. Those opposite have imposed another tax on the Australian people and they did not spend one nanosecond looking at other options. Senator Ludwig, as I said, was right: everyone in Queensland, Victoria and elsewhere who suffered from these floods needs government assistance. What they do not need is another tax. The interesting part about this, in my view, is that I think the Australian Labor Party—not you, Madam Acting Deputy President—in one fell swoop has sent a very dangerous message to the Australian people. There is anecdotal evidence, which I believe is correct from feedback that I have had, of the damage done by going to the Australian people and pleading for them to support the flood victims—which they did and which they have always been happy to do, as they did in Victoria two years ago—and then imposing a tax on top of that. You have destroyed the giving nature in this country. This will be the legacy: you will have single-handedly, potentially destroyed the giving culture in this country and you will pay an enormous penalty for that stupidity.

The coalition’s response to this matter was the appropriate response. On the back of the need for the Australian community and the Australian taxpayer to support the people of Queensland and elsewhere with financial assistance, we actually went down an entirely different path to that of the Australian Labor Party. We looked at where there may be savings to be made, where there may be government waste that could be set aside and put towards the flood victims. The Australian Labor Party just lives on taxes. If it is a problem, you tax it. We have said, quite clearly, that there are other options in relation to finding the money, the government assistance, that should be provided.

I will go very quickly through the list again. We would partially defer water buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin and delay funding under the so-called Building the Education Revolution program. We have seen more money wasted on this program than I think we have ever seen in this country’s history. You will waste that amount of money on the Green Loans and the Home Insulation programs but you will not give $5 million to our national icon down the road—the Australian War Memorial. I ask: what are your priorities? We would redirect the remaining funds from the Building Better Regional Cities program. We would reduce spending on the Automotive Transformation Scheme. There would be further cuts in funding to the GP Super Clinics Program—another farce. We would defer funding from the Australia Indonesia Education Partnership and discontinue funding to the National Solar Schools program and others. We sat down and looked at where the savings might be, because we acknowledge that the communities who suffered from the floods deserve this country and the government to put in for their reconstruction—but not by way of a tax.

When you look around this country, you will see whether there is fire or flood that the one thing that brings people together—the people in my state of Victoria, the people in New South Wales, Queensland and throughout the country, particularly country people—is their ability to respond quickly to changed circumstances, and especially when those changed circumstances relate to their neighbour or the person living down the road from them. What Australians are very quick to do in these times of trouble is to change their priorities. They will change their priorities in a nanosecond, and those priorities will be changed to ensure that they provide assistance to their neighbour in the widest possible sense. It begs the question: if people in that situation can change their priorities quickly, why is it impossible for the Gillard-Brown government to change its priorities? Why didn’t they do what that magnificent army of volunteers around this country did when they changed their priorities overnight to address the situation they were confronted with and respond accordingly? When you look at those who have been involved in these events, such as the SES, the farmers, the people in the towns and the cities—the sand baggers; those who dropped everything to help—you see that they changed their priorities and went to help their neighbour. The Australian community is quite capable of changing its priorities. It is extraordinary to me that this government is unable to do likewise.

I want to talk about the latest product of the Gillard-Brown government—the big new tax that is going to be delivered. My fear is that, when push comes to shove downstairs, the Independents will be so scared of taking on this government that they will roll over again. And when legislation comes back up here, the other part of the Gillard government will ensure that this country has a carbon tax.