Ms HALL (Shortland—Government Whip) (16:30): It was an interesting experience listening to the member for Casey. He trivialised, he derided, he abused, he insulted, but at no stage did he deliver any sound economic data or facts. It was all a joke for him, something to have a laugh about—and it was interesting watching the members of the opposition laugh along with him. For me, that shows that the economy and the management of our economy is a joke to the opposition; it is something you laugh about. This MPI will demonstrate to the Australian people why the member for North Sydney—the shadow Treasurer—should never be Treasurer. It also demonstrates—and the contribution of the member for Casey also demonstrates—that the opposition should never sit on the government benches. It just does not understand economics, the economy and how to manage it. The opposition is an economic disaster zone, and it has at no stage demonstrated any fiscal credibility. That is contrary to the government. The government has had some strong economic achievements, and the mid-year review shows that the Gillard government is on track to return the budget to surplus. I know it disappoints those in the opposition. They do not want the budget to return to surplus. But the fundamentals of the Australian economy are strong despite global turmoil. The opposition should be proud of the performance of our economy, but instead they like to talk it down, talk it down, talk it down. We have solid growth, low unemployment, strong investment and contained inflation—very strong economic indicators that I never hear opposition members talking about. It shows that our economy is one of the strongest economies in the world, and it is able to sustain and withstand all the economic pressures from overseas. Delivering a surplus gives the Reserve Bank maximum room to cut interest rates. When I talk about interest rates I think back to the times when the Howard-Costello government sat on the government benches. I remember interest rate increase one, two, three, four—right up to 10—and members of the Howard junta arguing that the Howard government would always keep interest rates lower than a Labor government would. Those on the other side are probably hanging their heads and trying to shuffle away from that, because there have been six interest rate decreases under the Labor government. Mr Perrett: Have they acknowledged them? Ms HALL: 'Have they acknowledged them?' the member for Moreton asks. Well, I never hear anything about that these days. And if anything is said about it, it is always put in a negative light: talk it down, talk it down, talk it down. A family with a mortgage of $300,000 is paying around $4,500 less a year, something I think benefits the families I represent in this parliament. And the responsible savings made by the government have led to the biggest increase in age pension and paid parental leave in history. My electorate is an older electorate, and I know that the pensioners I represent in this parliament live in trepidation of the Liberal Party—the opposition—gaining control of the government benches. They know that means they are going to have payments ripped away from them, just as the families that live in the Shortland electorate and other areas know that the opposition plans to destroy the Schoolkids Bonus. That will hurt 1.3 million families, and in the Shortland electorate 8,500 families will be punished if there is a Liberal coalition government sitting on the government benches. At the same time, they will not reinstate the education tax bonus, and they will slash $600 a year in extra family tax benefit payments from 1.5 million families in Australia and from 16,000 families in the Shortland electorate. A little bit of honesty here: the plan from the government is to continue strong economic growth; we will continue to step up to the plate in very tough economic times; and we will make the hard decisions that need to be made, whilst at the same time maintaining strong employment. Employment has been mentioned in this debate. We have an unemployment rate of 5.4 per cent, which is the envy of countries throughout the world. When I look at the MYEFO forecast for jobs, last year in the budget 500,000 jobs were created against a forecast of 175,000—performing above the forecast. It always surprises me when I see the shadow Treasurer make his appearances on TV. It is quite obvious that he has only read half the papers. He does not bother to get all the facts; he does not bother to let truth stand in the way of what he is about to say. The Australian people are really waking up to him. They are really beginning to understand that he yells and blusters and speaks loudly but he delivers nothing. He has no vision; he has no plan. He talks about the plan that the government has to reach a surplus. The MYEFO statement looks at apprenticeships and targets to areas of high need. On the baby bonus change, his comments were just ludicrous— Mr Perrett: Comparing it to China! Ms HALL: Comparing it to China's one-child policy! I can say that, in the Shortland electorate, the change to the baby bonus has been well received. Everybody knows that the costs you incur for the second and subsequent children are nothing near the level that you incur with the first child. It is just not good enough. People know that what the shadow Treasurer is saying is totally fallacious. He talks about capping the growth in private health insurance rebates. That is part of a plan. Company tax payment changes are part of a plan. Changes in the defence area, higher education, looking at lost superannuation, self-managed funds levy reform, visa application charge increases—all part of a plan. But what plan does the shadow Treasurer have for Australia? I would say he has a plan that is very similar to the government in New South Wales: ripping money out of education, ripping money out of hospitals, attacking those people who look to government for support. The shadow Treasurer and the opposition have no real plan. Their only real plan is to talk down the economy, to say no, to be negative and under no circumstances at all to put forward a real plan that will actually mean they have to tell the Australian people the truth and deliver— (Time expired)