Mr ROBB (Goldstein) (15:55): We have recently heard a litany of confusion and make-up. In recent weeks we have had to suffer the embarrassment of our Prime Minister and our Treasurer lecturing Europe about their economic woes. As we have just heard from the member for Maribyrnong, the lecturing of Europe has only served to highlight the incompetence of those opposite in managing our economy. Overnight we heard more platitudes from our Prime Minister, who, speaking in Europe, admonished the Europeans for muddling through and urged them to get a plan. Can you believe it? It is the pot calling the kettle black. It comes from a Prime Minister and a Treasurer who have muddled from one train wreck to another. It is cringe worthy. They are lecturing the Europeans, yet it is looking increasingly likely that this government will once again have to raise the debt ceiling above the quarter of a trillion dollars that they raised it to only months ago from $70 billion when they took office. They have raised it now to a quarter of a trillion dollars, and it is looking likely that they will come back again into this place within 12 months and look for a further rise in that debt ceiling. Their self-esteem is such that our Prime Minister and Treasurer are now offering to borrow more money to bail out Europe. This is a Europe which this year will again, after many years of doing the same thing, spend tens of billions of dollars subsidising their farmers so that our own farmers are locked out of their markets. They are going to spend tens of billions of dollars in Europe to lock our farmers out of their markets and disadvantage our farmers, yet we are going to help bail out Europe with tens of millions of dollars in aid. This is a nonsense, this is cringe worthy, this is embarrassing and, more importantly, this is sheer incompetence. What do you think people who are struggling in small business out there— Mr Bradbury interjecting— Mr ROBB: So you are going to give them a carbon tax, and you are going to give business a mining tax. This is the sort of thinking we have to deal with. This is the absurd thinking and the economic illiteracy that is running our country. They are going to help the Europeans to lock our farmers out of their markets. They are going to help the Europeans spend our borrowed money—every cent of that money they give to the Europeans will be borrowed money—and that will be used to help subsidise their farmers to lock our own farmers out of Europe. This is just unbelievable. But the biggest criticism that we have with this government—and we have had it for a long time—is their refusal to acknowledge the vulnerability of our economy. All of that vulnerability is not their fault, but they will not even acknowledge the vulnerability that is not even their own fault. This is why there is a crisis of confidence. People know that there is something afoot—that there are dark clouds out there. People know that we are totally reliant on the pollyanna assumptions that this government made in their budget estimations. People know that, if resource prices come off just 15 or 20 per cent, we will have more and more deficits and higher and higher interest rates. People know this. They know that jobs will go backwards. People are concerned about losing their jobs. The trend is there, yet this government will not acknowledge the vulnerability of our economy. They refuse to act to restore the economic resilience that they inherited. Despite the mining boom, we have seen growth of debt—the third fastest in the developed world. There are only the economic powerhouses of Iceland and— Mr Bradbury: Back it up. Mr ROBB: Here he is! He looks confused. He does not even know the OECD figures that show that the Australian economy went from zero debt to, now, $210 billion of gross debt. We have gone to that level, and it is the third fastest in growth of any developed country in the world, apart from the powerhouses of Iceland and Ireland! A government member interjecting— Mr ROBB: What an embarrassment! What a statement! 'We got the big calls right,' said the member for Maribyrnong, and now we have confusion coming across the table—total confusion. Despite the mining boom we have had three record deficits. Not only that; we have had a structural deficit in this year's budget which is twice Germany's structural deficit. We have, on a per capita basis compared with Italy—one of the big economies in the world and one of the shaky ones—a structural deficit which is 30 per cent greater. So on a per capita basis we are twice as risky—twice as bad and twice as big—as Germany, and compared to Italy our structural deficit is 30 per cent greater on a per capita basis. This is the vulnerability that we have. This means that if there is any downturn in commodity prices we will be facing a $50 billion, $60 billion or $70 billion deficits for years and years. That means much higher debt, and all of the prosperity—all of the great blessings that we have had from this mining boom—will be squandered. This is irresponsibility. This is a government that will not acknowledge what is going on in our own country, much less the rest of the world. The other thing about this vulnerability is the growth in government that we have seen in our lives over the last four years. It is the biggest growth in government in my life—and that includes the Whitlam era. This is the only government in the world that reregulated its labour market in the face of a global financial crisis. Those changes are now coming home to roost. We are now seeing the vulnerability and the repercussions. Not only that; this is the only country in the world—the only government in the world—that is renationalising its telecommunications sector. What does the Economist magazine think of that? We heard about it earlier on. This is the only country in the world that is bringing in a nationwide carbon tax. What about that tax? It is crawling with thousands of bureaucrats. It is crawling with six new organisations. It is the most interventionist way you could ever try to deal with a price on carbon. It is the most socialist way you could deal with the price of carbon. No-one else has one; we are ahead of the rest of the world. That is a vulnerability. We are putting this carbon tax on everybody in this economy despite the fact that we are facing very vulnerable, very doubtful times. We had the member for Maribyrnong up here a few minutes ago gloating that this government had created an efficient public service. If you go back to the first budget of the Treasurer of this Labor government you find that the budget predicted that, in 2011-12, the Public Service would grow to a cost of $16 billion. Have a look at the budget papers this year and you will see that the cost for 2011-12 is expected to be $19 billion. So there we had the member for Maribyrnong, who is supposed to be the Assistant Treasurer—what a goose!—who thinks his party has improved, refined and maintained a public service which is efficient. Yet it has grown $3 billion more in cost than they anticipated just three years ago—and that is in the face of a global financial crisis, for goodness sake! This is a government that has failed Australians. We can give hope, growth and development, and we can open up the north; but this government has failed and will not deliver on those things. We offer hope, reward and opportunity.