Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness) Share this | Hansard source

This is a very good MPI, because it allows us to consider the failure of the government to deliver on the economy, and that is measured not by me but by the federal budget, delivered by Mr Chalmers, who I think spent more time learning about Paul Keating's communication style than he did about Paul Keating's substantial and positive reforms to Australia. The sad truth is that we're looking at a $36 billion deficit this year and cumulative deficits over the forward estimates of $143 billion as we head towards $1 trillion of debt. Today's accounts show that 38 per cent of the contribution of growth comes from the public sector. There's something wrong at the Reserve Bank, because they don't seem to know this, or they seem to be covering up these facts, when they put out these statements. But it's very clear that the government sector, the public sector, is massively contributing to the economic growth in Australia. That is why it's contributing to inflation and higher interest rates. This is the reality that Australians now have to live with.

I feel sorry for all the Australians who have taken out 95 per cent mortgages, at the behest of this government, that are uncapped. It has been marketing that like a financial product. Those Australians will now have to pay vastly higher amounts in interest costs because of the government's forcing up of interest rates because of their failure to contain inflation because public sector spending is out of control. As I said, there was a $36 billion deficit this year, $143 billion over the forward estimates, on the way to $1 trillion. And Dr. Evil's not even in the building!

We have a massive problem with waste in the country, and if you want to see the waste, come and see this government in action in Canberra. We sit here in this Senate, day in and day out, and nothing happens. There's no passing of legislation. We don't do anything. The government tries to obstruct the opposition from getting access to documents. How shocking it is that we are trying to do the jobs that we are well remunerated to do: getting access to information, exposing maladministration, exposing waste! That's the job—to find out stuff, to work for the people. But, no, don't do that. Don't get to the bottom of anything. Just try to obstruct and obfuscate. That's what we do here in Canberra. It's a huge waste of money.

I take the points that the government speakers have made about housing. The government have had three gimmicks. Let me remind you of the housing scoreboard. After spending $80 billion on housing, the government is giving the country 30,000 fewer houses each year. They've crashed housing construction in this country from 200,000 houses a year on average down to 170,000 houses a year on average. That's the value the country gets from $80 billion.

They've had three gimmicks in these four long years. The first gimmick is the Housing Australia Future Fund. With 10 billion bucks and after 2½ years, apparently it has built about 800 houses, but I'd say most of those have been bought. The second gimmick is five per cent deposits, a free-for-all where the government is underwriting the mortgage insurance of even the wealthiest Australians, and what you now see is a massive uptick in prices for entry-level houses. With their reckless five per cent deposit scheme, which is just pushing up prices, they are hurting the people who are trying to get into the market. With their third gimmick, they're now canvassing the idea of new taxes on housing, because they hate the idea of mums and dads providing rental stock to other Australians. Their solution is to get the institutional investors in to provide rental stock to Australians, because that's their mates.

Ultimately, this is a government for mates. Most of their economic policy is designed for their friends and their vested interests. They want mums and dads out and they want the super funds to be the big corporate landlords. They want them to own the houses. So far, they have three housing gimmicks: the Housing Australia Future Fund that builds no houses; the five per cent deposits, which have been a disaster for young people; and they're now looking at high taxes, which apparently will help build more houses. If you can tell me how more tax will build more houses, then I'm open to that discussion, but so far this is crazy economics from a government which has crashed the budget and crashed the economy, and the Australian people are now paying a very, very heavy price indeed.