Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

This government does indeed have a very different approach towards these processes. What we will not do is make promises during election campaigns to the point whereby they simply do not add up. With regard to the now opposition’s AusLink commitments, during the federal election campaign they just made promises regardless of whether or not they added up. They made promises because they knew they were never going to be in a position to fulfil them.

What is interesting about the specific question raised by the shadow minister is that he was the minister prior to the election. Did he do anything about it? No. Did the previous National Party minister do anything about it? No. Did the minister before that do anything about it? No. And yet, just 11 weeks post the November 24 election, they have come in here and put forward specific questions about commitments that were given. I will tell you what we will be doing. We will be doing two things. One, we will be establishing a proper process so that assessments can be given in terms of priority, establishing one that consults with Commonwealth-state governments and the private sector. Two, we will be repairing the state of the Commonwealth finances caused by the national pork-barrelling and waste whereby the former government were prepared to just make commitments regardless of whether they added up.

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