Dr MULINO (Fraser) (11:01): I move: That this House notes the Government's economic mismanagement and its sustained failure to deliver improved economic outcomes for Australians during its seven year term in office, measured by: (1) wage stagnation; (2) near record levels of underemployment; (3) high and rising rates of labour underutilisation, particularly for young people and in regional areas; (4) high levels of youth unemployment; (5) Australia's higher unemployment relative to peer nations; (6) weak consumption growth; (7) weak business investment; and (8) weak and declining productivity growth. This motion calls this government to account for its economic mismanagement and the negative consequences flowing from that. Our economy is weak. We all see this. We see this when we go back to our electorates and talk to our constituents. We see this with the lowest wages growth on record. We see this with labour productivity going back for the first time ever. These are not records that we want to be setting. We see this in the fact that retailers are shutting their doors every night on the news and that when we look on main street there are shops boarded up. We see this in the fact that consumer confidence is low and that the banks gave evidence to the House Economics Committee that roughly only a quarter of the government's first tranche of tax cuts was actually spent. We see unemployment stuck above five per cent. When we look at comparator economies, like the UK and the US, unemployment is far lower; far fewer people are negatively affected by this scourge. We see that in those economies unemployment is at levels that they haven't seen for half a century. Here, we are stuck. We see, more worryingly, that underemployment is high and rising: over eight per cent, and underutilisation of labour is nearly 20 per cent in some regions. Why are we in this shocking position, where our living standards are lower than they should be and we are less resilient to shocks than we should be? For two key reasons: firstly, this government is actually damaging our economy through its policies and, secondly, this government is not implementing policies that it should to benefit our economy. Let's imagine the Australian economy were a patient. It turns up to get help. There are two doctors: Dr RBA and Dr Frydenberg. Dr RBA says: 'You don't look well. I'll administer some help.' It lowers interest rates to levels nearly one-third of the level they were at the depths of the GFC. That helps a bit. But then the patient turns around to see what Dr Frydenberg is doing. Dr Frydenberg is heading out the door with the patient's wallet, riffling through it and taking notes out. The patient says, 'Hey, I thought you were here to help me!' Dr Frydenberg says, 'No, I need a surplus.' What we see— The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Zimmerman ): I call the minister on a point of order. Mr Wood: When referring to members, could you refer to them by their position. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I would encourage the member for Fraser to refer to people by their proper titles. Dr MULINO: The Treasurer is heading out the door. I like the fact that he didn't dispute me on the facts; he disputed me on the name. That's a very important point, Deputy Speaker. The Treasurer is heading out the door. What we see is that monetary policy is being counteracted by this government. What we see is a government that is underspending on the NDIS to the tune of $4.6 billion in a year. We have expansionary monetary policy, which is there to put downward pressure on the currency to help net exporters to boost employment in export sectors. We see expansionary monetary policy, which is to lower borrowing costs, which is to boost the capacity of borrowers to spend. What do we see the government doing? We see its policies counteracting expansionary monetary policy. We see its policies not increasing government spending in key areas based on good policy but taking money out of the economy. It's not only heartless, it's not only bad policy; it's actually counteracting what the Reserve Bank is doing. So at the heart of our economy is a structural problem where our two main economic levers are working at odds. This must change. The Governor of the Reserve Bank said that, with interest rates at the lowest level they have been since Federation, Australia should not rely on monetary policy alone. Too true! This government needs to act on fiscal policy, on economic reform. It needs to take some action with its own levers so that the Reserve Bank is not doing all of the heavy lifting. What should the government be doing? First and foremost, it should stop underspending in areas where good public policy would suggest more investment needs to be made. Secondly, it should be spending on infrastructure. Economic experts, the Reserve Bank and others are lining up to state that, with record low interest rates and slack in the labour market, we need more infrastructure spending—not just the mega-projects, but local projects in outer suburban areas and in regional areas. This government needs to be doing far more—good policy projects that could boost employment. The Reserve Bank has been saying it time and time again, but this government will not listen. The government should bring forward targeted tax cuts. What this government is focused on is tax cuts, often in the never-never, for the highest income earners. That's not what our government needs. It's not good public policy and it's also not what our economy needs in the short term. Our economy's weaknesses have been years in the making—years of inaction by this government. What we see right now is that this government is acting in a way that counteracts what the Reserve Bank is trying to achieve and it is not implementing a raft of policies that our economy needs—investment in infrastructure, investment in people through VET, investment in the NDIS. This government needs to take action to boost our living standards and our resilience to economic shocks. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Mr Zimmerman ): Is the motion seconded? Dr Aly: I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.