PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Dr Haines ) (18:28): I remind the member to use parliamentary language, please. Mr KENNEDY: The economy is stuffed, Madam Deputy Speaker Haines. I think that's true, and I hear that every day from people in my electorate.
Every day, people in my electorate come up and tell me— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Perhaps choose another word. Mr KENNEDY: The economy is getting destroyed by these people. If we can't say that in this chamber, I think there's a real problem in parliament right now because I'm meeting small-business owners in my electorate who are going out of business.
FJP Manufacturing's energy prices are up 45 per cent for gas, 41 per cent for electricity. They had seven apprentices. They're down to one.
Six apprentices have lost their jobs because energy is destroyed and this economy is destroyed. Pick your adjective, but I think it's not worth mincing words here when these are people's jobs in my electorate. These are people's incomes in my electorate.
As Bill Kelty said only yesterday, real wages are going down, and it's an insult to the Australian people. The Prime Minister and the Treasurer are insulting people. Right now, when this government is presiding over the biggest collapse of living standards in our living memory.
I think the time for politeness and niceties are over, especially if you put it in the light that this government promised $275 off bills four years ago. There are only two explanations for that. Either (1) they had no idea how these energy markets worked and got it completely wrong or (2) they understood and made that false promise anyway.
They're the only two possible scenarios for them being so wrong about energy bills coming down by $275. Instead, we hear that they're up an average of $1,400. That's not close; that's not even in the same ballpark.
Why is the economy so bad? One of the biggest reasons is that energy is so bad. People remember that promise; they also remember the promise about CGT and negative gearing.
The problem, as the Prime Minister said, is that 'you can only tell a lie once because people remember it'. What we've seen is a backflip on CGT, we've seen a backflip on negative gearing, we've seen a backflip on trusts, and we've seen a backflip on energy. Small-business owners in my electorate, all through the manufacturing sites in Caringbah, all through Taren Point, understand this only too well.
The government can talk all it wants about low-cost energy, but it's not delivering it. We continue to rise through the OECD in our energy costs. We hear from the CEO of BHP that Australia is an outlier, and they're looking at investing elsewhere in the world because our energy prices and gas prices are two to four times higher than in the US.
We hear the CEOs of Cadbury and Mars say that Australia is no longer economical to invest in because of our energy prices. We hear about Tomago going bankrupt, Whyalla going bankrupt, Nyrstar going bankrupt, Bell Bay going bankrupt and a smelter in Gladstone going bankrupt. All these energy-rich industries are going bankrupt.
The only way we are keeping these industries is because this Labor government bails them out, taking the tax dollars of people at home—hardworking Australians. People are out there losing their mortgages, and we're trying to debate which adjective we use for how bad this economy is. They're losing their mortgages— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I remind the member that it is the discretion of the chair to determine what is parliamentary language.
I ask you to refrain from continuing to criticise the chair, which is, ultimately, what you're doing, and continue your speech. Mr KENNEDY: I take exception to the terms being used. When I saw a single mother in my electorate last weekend in tears—crying—because she could not make the mortgage repayments on her single bed in Sans Souci.
She lost her entire deposit. She was in tears looking at me. Mrs Elliot: Chair, I request that the member show respect to the chair and respect your ruling.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I take the point of order, and I ask the member, finally, to withdraw the language and to discontinue criticising the chair. Mr KENNEDY: I will not stop talking about the women in Sans Souci who was in tears with me— The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member will take his seat. I call the member for Adelaide.