“This budget is a budget where it’s a case of a person in pulmonary arrest being offered two Panadol and a cup of cold water,” said Senator Joyce, the Leader of the Nationals in the Senate. “There is nothing that really grasps the nettle of the problem of excessive debt. There is no major program that lays out a plausible exit strategy.
“Remember the situation when California had a deficit less than ours and they virtually went broke? The case was so serious they had to be bailed out by Washington. The gravitas of our situation seems to be completely ignored by the executive.
“Governor Schwarzenegger said when they had a $42 billion deficit that ‘the deficit is a rock upon our chest and we cannot breathe until we get it off’. California was, for all intents and purposes, unable to pay its public servants and they have a vastly bigger and more dynamic economy, than Australia.”
The Nationals in the Senate raised issues at the National Press Club the day before the budget questioning whether our nation had the capacity to afford three tiers of government. This is because of Labor-inspired ramifications of excessive debt, dynamic and hard decisions have to be made to pay it back.
“Granted there has been investment in some infrastructure, but the important initiatives which would help us pay our debt have been canned. It is good to move the family car around but it is better to move coal, wheat, cotton and other primary sources of wealth if you are trying to pay the nation’s debt.
“The prioritisation of the expenditure does not recognise the problem at hand. A project that could have increased the aggregate capacity of our nation by increasing port interconnectivity, delivering a corridor of commerce between Melbourne and Brisbane, was leaked to the media and then withdrawn.
“This is the ad hoc approach of a Labor government. In Australia we are getting the message that it is OK to feel cool with funding being poured into insulation but in country areas you better not feel sick. The amount that is given to health in country areas is so small it is an insult and it is pathetic.
“The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, a department that has been instrumental in earning income for the nation, has had its budget cut by more than 30 per cent.
“The Labor Government have managed to get it wrong twice, they have blown out debt and they have not concentrated to the extent required on investing in the areas that produce wealth.
“Australia will only recover if the world recovers. And if the world recovers, the demands for finance will go through the roof, in which case those with debt through the roof will pay through the nose,” Senator Joyce said.