Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG (Macquarie Fields) (17:067): — Via video link: I am delighted to respond to the public interest debate yet again debating the economic recovery from the COVID pandemic.

This working‑class economist never shies away from an economic debate.

It is obvious that the Liberal Government has been drinking its own economic Kool-Aid about the required economic solutions. It believes that economic recovery is to come into the Chamber, send in the novice economic privates, fire off some economic blanks, roll off some talking points and repeat previously moved motions.

It does not do its basic homework. If it cannot do the very basics in Parliamentary debates, how can it possibly be trusted to come up with economic solutions?

Let me take Members back to 11 May, when the Member for Hawkesbury moved that this House acknowledges that this Government is building for a post-COVID economy.

Then, on 8 June, the Member for Manly moved that this House acknowledges that the Government continues to build a strong economy as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, of course, the Member for Miranda moved to acknowledge the New South Wales Government's plan to build a strong economy for the future as we recover from the COVID‑19 pandemic.

Seriously? We are $104 billion in debt. That is about $13,000 for every man, woman and child in New South Wales.

Since June, 234,500 fewer people are employed. Hours worked have dropped by 11 per cent, and 8.4 per cent of the New South Wales workforce worked zero hours. Zilch. Nought. Nothing. No hours worked.

A few word changes in a repeated public interest debate motion is not the solution.

Economics is a complicated profession, and we are in a difficult and precarious economic situation. We need thoughtful and targeted economic policy, not economic plagiarism. We do not need pass mark undergraduates who did not even do economics 101 and if they did, barely passed it.

Those repeated motions clearly tell the people of New South Wales that the Liberal Government has no insight into the depth of the economic situation and no idea about the required economic recovery. It is the ultimate recycler. It recycles old media releases. It recycles the same old photo opportunities. It recycles bad policies. It even recycles Premiers like there is no tomorrow. Yet, here we are again, recycling the same old motions.

You would think that a government would try to play to its strongest hand. It would roll off its standard media lines on this project and that project, all of which, of course, went well over budget by the billions.

What about the Sydney Light Rail project? After 11 years you would think the Government would have some positive tale to tell — something, surely. But, alas, no.

Almost four months since the lockdown was imposed, we have weasel words that somehow make everything better.

So here we are yet again, debating this Government's economic credentials — or, to be more specific, the lack thereof. It is something this working-class economist is only too pleased to talk about; it is surely the lowest hanging fruit.

You would think this Government would learn, given we already had these debates in recent months. Obviously not, because the reality is this Liberal Government — and yet another new Liberal Premier — has no economic or policy credentials at all.

It is true that the new Premier is big on announcements. Toll hikes—tick. Copy Labor policy on tolls, social housing and education—tick, tick, tick.

Did I mention land tax? Funny how that just seems to have fallen off the economic reform agenda, much like the Government's much-touted emergency services levy reforms — we have not heard much about that, have we?

The truth is that all this Government ever actually does is talk. Nation- and State-building reform is simply alien to the current bunch on the Government benches. But they can talk — if only they actually ever followed through with some action.

The Government's policy and economic scenario goes something like this:

• Have a thought bubble—any thought will do, provided there is a photo op in it
• Hire a gaggle of consultants and pay them squillions
• Market‑test the aforementioned thought bubble and consultants' report with photo ops and media releases
• Receive stakeholder and public backlash
• Realise the thought bubble is dead, scrap and bury
• And repeat.

The outcome of this Government's so-called reform process is the consultants make millions, New South Wales taxpayers get ripped off, opportunities are lost and the New South Wales people lose money that could have been spent to help our economy and businesses recover.

I began by saying that this Government is all about recycling. This Government, despite cosmetic changes, is no longer up to the challenges facing a post-pandemic New South Wales.

It is time for change.