Page 2608 - Week 12 - Thursday, 16 November 1989
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Mr Speaker, as Mr Kaine indicated, there are a number of welfare moves in place which have not necessarily benefited the poor. There has been a proliferation of welfare schemes since 1972, and that obviously has not helped the poor and the disadvantaged. A healthy economy will. Australia had a healthy economy when we had 23 years of Liberal-National Party rule from 1949 to 1972, but it has been a little shaky since. As Mr Kaine said, in the last seven years it has been distinctly shaky. I think we are now behind even the Soviet Union in terms of efficiency and ahead of only about two Third World countries. That is really quite a disastrous state of affairs.
A healthy economy will turn around a lot of the problems faced by the poor and disadvantaged. Mr Hawke's statement, that there will not be an Australian child living in poverty by 1990, is patently ridiculous. I think events show what a cruel and stupid statement that was. Indeed, even some of the statements made in the last six months in this Assembly and some of the initiatives taken to alleviate that make a mockery of that claim.
I think the Minister's real concern, however, in relation to this tax package and perhaps even the reason why he raised it in this Assembly is the obvious popularity of the scheme. Also I think there is a fear held by the Labor Party about the popularity of this scheme amongst a lot of traditional Labor voters, especially blue-collar workers.
I think the Labor Party is running very scared of this scheme because it reminds it of the huge swing against it by traditional Labor supporters in the New South Wales election last year, by an electorate that was sick and tired of incompetence, economic mismanagement, a government pushing trendy issues and a government showing no concern for such issues as the family and law and order. That is not what the Liberal Party is about. We do show concern for the family; we do show concern for law and order; and we indeed are showing concern for a lot of areas which traditional Labor voters expected of their party but in relation to which they are rapidly becoming disillusioned.
I made one comment when Mr Berry was talking about how dreadful it was that, after nine months, unemployment benefit would be cut off and people would have to seek to go onto a special benefit which is subject to strict eligibility criteria. He was very concerned when I said that was good, and he went in for a little bit of personal criticism then. I might come back to that in a minute.
I think that is perhaps one of the most popular incentives taken in this tax package, and it is very popular among blue-collar workers because they know what it is all about. They are salary earners. They, more than anyone else, do not want to see people abusing a system. After nine months of unemployment relief, if people cannot find jobs, if they are in desperate need and if it is through no fault of their own, they can go onto a special benefit. But it
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