Economic Reform
Page: 14031
The Hon. HENRY TSANG: My question is addressed to the new Minister for Economic Reform, and the newly promoted Deputy Leader of the Government. Will the Minister update the House on the OECD's latest observations on economic reform?
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: New South Wales is committed to economic reform, and the challenge of economic reform becomes even more important at this moment for our nation because the Federal Government has left the country in the lurch.
The PRESIDENT: Order! I call the Hon. Jennifer Gardiner to order.
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: With regard to economic reform, no less an authority than the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Ian Macfarlane, conceded what members on the Government side of the House have known for a long time: Australia's recent economic growth has been built on the achievements of the Hawke-Keating Government.
The Hon. Michael Gallacher: Point of order: The Minister is intentionally misleading the House, and he knows it.
The PRESIDENT: Order! There is no point of order.
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: It galls members opposite to think that one of their appointees to the prestigious position of Governor of the Reserve Bank told the truth on this matter for everyone to hear, that is, that Australia's recent economic growth was based on reforms put in place by Federal Labor governments—reforms such as tariff reduction, financial deregulation and competition policy. These are real Labor achievements on which the other side of politics has piggy-backed for many years. Governor Macfarlane's report also confirmed the recent OECD report, which shows that the structural reforms of the Hawke-Keating governments are the foundation of the economic prosperity experienced by this country. What has the present Federal Government done in terms of its own agenda to enhance economic reform? The answer is very little. According to the OECD report, Australia—
The Hon. Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans: Point of order: I fail to see how statements about what the Federal Government is doing can have anything to do with the Minister's portfolio. I ask that he be requested to stick to the subject.
The PRESIDENT: Order! There is no point of order.
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: It does not surprise me that the Hon. Dr Arthur Chesterfield-Evans does not understand economic reform and how it connects to State Government policies. The real issue is how our economic reform is to be managed into the future. The Federal Government is recklessly spending New South Wales tax dollars. Material indicating the amount of GST revenue that has been collected clearly shows that New South Wales has been short-changed by the Federal Government. The Federal Government collects $2.6 billion more in GST revenue from New South Wales than it returns to New South Wales. It is a disgrace. It is the basis of a range of policy measures by the Federal Government, and recently it became obvious that those measures are pork-barrelling. The Federal Government is good at pork-barrelling. [Time expired.]
The Hon. HENRY TSANG: I ask a supplementary question. Will the Minister elucidate his answer?
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: The Federal Government takes $2.6 billion out of the pockets of New South Wales taxpayers and spends it on projects such as Tumbi Creek and the Beaudesert railway—great projects for nation building! That money is used for pork-barrelling to get hopeless Coalition members elected. The taxation figures for the country are absolutely clear: New South Wales taxpayers are being rorted by the Federal Government to pay for its pork-barrelling. A range of indicators shows, first, that capital grants—
The Hon. Duncan Gay: So you've never made an election promise?
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: So it is an election promise, is it?
The Hon. Duncan Gay: Of course it was. What did you think it was?
The Hon. MICHAEL COSTA: An area that was swept through with water naturally had to have funds allocated to it. The National Party is famous for such election promises. The fact is that New South Wales taxpayers have not had returned to them funds that have been collected. Services in New South Wales are under pressure because the Federal Government takes $2.6 billion more in GST from New South Wales taxpayers than it returns. We will hang that figure around the necks of members opposite for the rest of this session. Honourable members should remember this: the Federal Government has taken $2.6 billion out of the pockets of New South Wales taxpayers and distributed it for National Party pork-barrelling. It is an absolute disgrace. The Federal Government needs to explain why it is short-changing New South Wales taxpayers, and I will remind members opposite of that.