9th August 2007- Senate Question Time

Concern arose when labour claimed that it shared an identical fiscal policy with the liberal party. The credibility of this statement is undermined not only by Labour’s recent response to the Reserve Bank’s position on interest rates but also by their lack of compliance with the Charter of Budget Honesty. If Australia’s financial position is in fact envied by the rest of the financial western world…what will the effects of Labour’s “apparently imminent” debt binge have?

On another not those in power continually reinforce the economic strength of Australia shown through previous entries... however preaching interest rate reduction does not correlate to the increase in general expenses. Average wage earnings have increased by $850 a month over the past 5 years- however repayments on average home loans has risen by $740 a month, 20% increases in food prices, 45% increases in petrol and a whopping 88% increase in child care fees. So despite the fact that government preaches that unemployment is at a record 32 year low of 4.3%, those in casual, part-time and low-paid positions are struggling to make ends meet- so although liberal positively claim that Australians have an extra $110 a month, their purchasing exceeds this considerably. I think it’s about time our government acknowledged that figures on paper differ from reality.

And finally rural and regional Australia is still suffering. Bendigo, a town of 100,000, classified as zone 3 has a chronic shortage of GPs. Liberal senators claim that ventures are under way including the Flynn Scholarship initiative, rural retention programs and up-skilling seminar grants. However, as is typical with our current government, programs were listed with no reference to the simple reality that these ventures in fact relate to zone 4 and 5 communities, and that Bendigo is thus competing as opposed to reaping the rewards of such ventures. What good is a government that states that it is doing when it is not…when will the liberal government understand that it is accountable to its people and does not/should not consider itself above and therefore autonomous.