Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

We need to see this action to block a significant savings measure in the budget in the context of another decision taken by the Liberal Party, the opposition, a couple of weeks ago to send off to a committee for over a year a measure to reduce the threshold for disclosure of political donations from the current $10,000 figure. They are committed to achieving a situation where wealthy Australians can make big political donations in secret and get a free kick from the tax commissioner at the same time.

In conclusion, the random sniping at the budget measures that we have seen from the opposition is unworthy of a party that seeks to form government. If you parade yourself around, as the Leader of the Opposition does, as the alternative government—and that is a phrase that he likes to use—you have a responsibility to act like an alternative government. It is not a badge you put on yourself; it is a badge that you earn. You earn that by engaging with the debate on the big issues that are facing this country. That is when you are entitled to call yourself an alternative government. The Rudd government is addressing the big issues facing Australia: investing in infrastructure, building a high-speed broadband network, tackling the skills crisis, putting downward pressure on inflation and interest rates, tackling climate change, reintroducing fairness into the workplace and getting better living standards for working people in this country. I will leave it to the Australian people to decide who the serious players are in Australian politics. It is certainly not the opposition. I call on them to stop their blocking and obstructive tactics and to engage in the debate about the future of this nation.

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