Mr BUCHHOLZ (Wright—Government Whip) (15:50): I welcome the member for McMahon back into the chamber and note with interest that the terms of the matter of public importance contain the word 'chaotic'—it is always a pleasure to have him back in the chamber given yesterday's unsavoury performance. This week is a great week for Labor because they have been celebrating the anniversary of the announcement of the abolition of the carbon tax by none other than the member for McMahon and the then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, in Townsville not 12 months ago. Not 12 months ago this government stood in front of the Australian public and said 'We are abolishing the carbon tax' and yet this week they voted three times against its repeal. Here is a government that will continually say one thing and do another. I hardly need to take members back to a previous Prime Minister, Prime Minister Gillard, who said that there would be no carbon tax under a government she led. You cannot trust one thing those on the other side of this House say—you cannot even believe them when they say hello.
There are an enormous number of people in my electorate who are going to benefit from the measures we have introduced with reference to the carbon tax. The Hood family who are farmers and have large refrigerators to keep the fruit and vegetables fresh. Mulgowie Farms, Kalfresh, Bunny Bites, Moffats and many other businesses will benefit. There will be a $9 billion hand brake let off our economy. This is a great day and a great week for the budget of this nation. It will release the entrepreneurialship of our businesses and that money will be spent back in local communities and that in turn will have a direct impact on our budget and on productivity. When you take money out of that sector and you allow the multiplier effect to spread through the community, our nation will be better for it and it will prosper. We were elected to government to do a number of things: to fix the budget and to fix border security. In passing I concur with a previous speaker: the member for McMahon was a pretty ordinary immigration minister.
Mr Ciobo: And a pretty ordinary Treasurer too.
Mr BUCHHOLZ: During question time today the Leader of the Opposition said that there would be pain in the electorate as a result of some of our budget measures. We should not pretend there will not be some degree of pain throughout the electorate, but I remind those Australians who will be feeling pain as to why that pain is coming. It is coming as a result of the deficits and the debt that was incurred through the mismanagement by those on the other side of this House. Does the problem need to be fixed? Do not take the Treasurer's word that the budget needs to be fixed; do not take the Prime Minister's word that the budget needs to be fixed. The Australian public has a choice: they can believe those on the other side, who put their heads in the sand and say, 'There is no problem,' or they can believe the then Treasurer, the member for Lilley, who said in 2011:
… meandering back to surplus would compound the pressures in our economy and push up the cost of living for pensioners and working people.
That was said by the then Treasurer who knew there was a problem.
But do not rely on the member for Lilley. Perhaps you could take a comment from Glenn Stevens, the Governor of the Reserve Bank. He does not bat for one side or the other; he calls it as it is. He said:
Early, measured actions … that build up over time are a much better approach than the much tougher responses that might be required if decisions are delayed.
But you do not have to believe the Governor of the Reserve Bank. The Secretary for the Treasury, Martin Parkinson, said it had to be fixed, as did Phil Bowen of the Parliamentary Budget Office. The Secretary General of the OECD, Angel Gurria, also said that the problem had to be fixed.
Ladies and gentlemen of this House, there are budget measures that need to be fixed. We were elected to get on and fix them, and we will do it. If you vote for Labor, you will get a carbon tax back; the boats will start coming again; and you will constrict future generations to debts and deficits. The only way this country is going to prosper is under a coalition government.
