Senator SINGH (Tasmania) (15:57): The resource investment which is expected to drive new business investment is at a record high in Australia as a percentage of GDP over the forecasted period of MYEFO. Across Australia's economy we have a very strong investment outlook, with something like $20 billion at an advanced stage boosting the productive capacity of our economy. As part of that, capital expenditure is set to rise as well by 45 per cent in 2012-13 after growing by 75 per cent last year. This is all part of the good work and the good policy decision-making that has been done by our Treasurer, Wayne Swan. The opposition's stance makes it crystal clear that they would rather give a tax cut to Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer than help out everyday Australians. This is exactly what the MRRT is about: helping out everyday Australians and sharing the benefits of the mining boom. There is very much a stark contrast between Labor and the opposition—between those who stand up very much for working Australians and those opposite who kneel to the feet of vested interests; between those who believe that, when commodity prices are booming, all Australians should benefit and those opposite who want prosperity to belong to only a very fortunate few. That is a clear policy difference between Labor and the opposition. On any day, I am very proud to say that I stand on this side of the Senate chamber in support of Labor and our policy position to spread the benefits of the mining boom to all Australians. We are of course talking about resources in the ground that, as I said earlier, can only be dug up once. Unfortunately, the opposition are clearly happy to follow the lead of Campbell Newman in Queensland and o cut services that Australians very much rely on. I think they are quite happy to do that. What we have seen unfold in Queensland is just a taste of what the country could expect under an Abbott led Liberal government, because it is the Liberal Party way. Every single measure in Newman's budget got the tick of approval from the Leader of the Opposition and the shadow Treasurer. In September, the shadow Treasurer praised Campbell Newman's savage cuts, saying, in the Age newspaper: … all strength to his right arm, he's showing incredible courage … Fourteen thousand Queensland workers have been sacked by Campbell Newman, who specifically told them before the election that they had nothing to fear from a Campbell Newman led government—nothing to fear. If his government do not think losing your job is something to fear, then I do not know what they think having a livelihood, let alone a prosperous life, is all about. That is very much something to fear, having a government come in and slash and burn jobs right across the state—14,000 jobs in Queensland. This was a very cruel and destructive budget by a cruel and destructive Liberal Party, and I think this Queensland budget is just a sneak peek at the type of damage a federal Liberal Party government would do to Australian jobs and the Australian economy. Newman's wrecking-ball approach is straight out of the Liberal Party playbook, and it is exactly the same destructive approach that Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey would take to fill their $70 billion crater that they continue to be unable to explain to the Australian people how they will fill. But they have alluded to one area in terms of filling their $70 billion black hole. Joe Hockey made the announcement that they would cut services for families and communities, including payments. Joe Hockey has confirmed that the coalition will dump the Schoolkids Bonus. It does not matter that families with kids at school need it. It is not the kind of thing that the coalition support, so of course it is easy to slash and burn the Schoolkids Bonus. This is Joe Hockey's 'end of the entitlement era', he claims— Senator Birmingham: Mr Deputy President, I rise on a point of order. Could the senator refer to members of the other place by their appropriate titles. The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: I remind all senators to refer to members of the other House by their seat names or their names with honorifics. Senator SINGH: I will do so, Mr Deputy President. Mr Hockey's 'end to the entitlement era', he calls it—not 'reasonable reductions in middle-class welfare for millionaires who do not need it', of course. No, the coalition's strategy is a two-pronged assault on services and support for families, in a desperate attempt to fund their $70 billion black hole and in a desperate attempt to fund the opposition leader's politically motivated policies on the run. Surprisingly, though, Mr Hockey claimed that the coalition was not able to support a bonus—that is, the Schoolkids Bonus—that is funded by the mining tax. Could the shadow Treasurer show a greater lack of understanding in saying that the Schoolkids Bonus is funded by the mining tax? I do not know where on earth he is coming from. It is absolutely incorrect to assert that the Schoolkids Bonus has been funded by the mining tax. But it suits the coalition's argument to package up the mining tax, which they are opposed to, with the Schoolkids Bonus, which they are opposed to, and say, 'We're going to get rid of that because it's funded by that,' when that is so incorrect. Again, they are just trying to muddy the waters, to somehow make the Australian public believe the shadow Treasurer's view that the mining tax is worth getting rid of. One thing that is very clear is that there is a stark contrast between Labor and the opposition when it comes to spreading wealth in our country and ensuring that all Australians get a fair go. Those of us in the Labor Party believe in a fair go. It is an Australian value, one that has become a mainstay in the Australian community, and therefore we look at ways we can improve policy in this country so we can ensure that all Australians receive a fair go. But the record profits coming out of the mining sector are going to a very small number of people, and some of the mining companies are not even Australian owned. When we see those resources coming out of the Australian ground and the profits going into the hands of a very small number of mining magnates, Australians think to themselves: does this stand up to that value of a fair go? Is this ensuring that Australians get some benefit from the resources that we all own—that we all own—and share in this country? No, it is not, and therefore we came up with a policy that ensures that we do all get some benefit from the profits that come from our resources. That is why we have put forward this policy, which will do that by boosting retirement savings and lifting the superannuation guarantee from nine to 12 per cent—all things that the opposition say no to. On top of that, we are giving tax breaks to 2.7 million small businesses—another thing that the opposition say no to. We are helping viable communities get through a tough patch by investing in their workers with equipment and ideas through a loss carry-back—another thing the opposition say no to. Labor will also provide cost-of-living relief to 1.5 million families and 1.4 million job seekers, students and parents on income support. Labor will build critical infrastructure through the Regional Infrastructure Fund. The contrast between these policy initiatives from Labor and the polices of the opposition has never been clearer. It is the contrast between a party which believes in a fair go and a party which just says no and, in saying no, continues to dig an even bigger black hole for itself—$70 billion. The opposition has not yet answered to the Australian public about how it is going to fund its promises—promises which already have a $70 billion black hole. The only saving they have offered up is, as I have shared with you, the slashing of the schoolkids bonus—something that so many families in this country rely on to ensure their kids have all the necessities for their education. (Time expired)