Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Five have just switched off, said Senator Polley. They knew you were up next! I'm pretty sure those people are sick of us just commissioning reports and having a gab rather than doing the things that address the issues that have been talked about in this debate.

I've already put on record my views about how best to assist those who want to get ahead, how best to provide equality of opportunity and not shame those young people who want to get ahead and try and do well. I encourage my kids to do well. I'm sure there are some opposite who will now say that I'm an elitist because I want my kids to do well, but I'm proud of any young person who does well, who does take a risk in life, who does try and improve the lives of others, particularly in our smaller, regional communities. Directing the Productivity Commission to undertake this analysis and provide a report to government is going to do nothing, other than allow us to line the shelves in our offices with yet another report that may well never see the light of day, that will just gather dust and that will not make a jot of difference to the lives of those people we're talking about now.

I'm a very strong supporter, having done extensive work with Senator Polley and other senators on the Community Affairs References Committee, of supporting those truly in need. We can never shy away from the fact that in this country there are people truly in need. But I don't think having support for those who are in need should come at the cost of assisting those who want to get ahead. That's the thing. I think this debate sometimes comes down to there being mutual exclusivity: you've either got to support those who want to get ahead, or cut them off at the knees and give it all to those who can't do well off their own bat.

You've got to wonder, though, if this bill passed, what would it would do for Australian families? They may be struggling to pay their power bills, as Senator O'Neill talked about. No-one's doing anything to address the cost of living. In Tasmania—and I'll need to double-check this—power prices under the Labor-Green government went up something like 65 per cent in the 16 years of government down there. We had an announcement yesterday in Tasmania, where the Tasmanian government, the Hodgman Liberal government, said that, if re-elected, they would leave the National Electricity Market, which would see a significant drop in power prices. That's the kind of thing that will help Australian families who are struggling with the cost of living and will assist in this debate about trying to make Australia a fairer place in terms of the burdens that are placed on Australian household budgets.

But commissioning a report up here in Canberra, talking about it in this big room and doing nothing much else, I don't think will help those people. It is about practical initiatives. It is about going out and listening to Australians and what matters to them. It's about putting in place measures and initiatives which will assist them to deal with the problems they face, which will assist them to take advantage of the opportunities that we have in this country, which, as I started by saying today, is the lucky country. It is the land of opportunity, as Senator O'Neill said herself. In terms of providing equality of opportunity, we should be nurturing the attitude that we want to see in our young people—of entrepreneurialism, risk-taking and things like that—so that, rather than waiting for the government to fix everything, they can get up and do it themselves. (Time expired)