Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I say to the honourable member who has just asked the question that again we are faced with some serious economic challenges in our country—for jobs and for families—and his interests, following the direction of his political masters, is simply again to engage in political point scoring. I think the people of Australia would want something more from their representatives than that sort of intervention.

This government, when it comes to the reform of the federation, believes that the responsible course of action is to invest in education, to invest in schools, to invest in TAFE and to invest in universities—to make sure that we have an education system designed for the 21st century. I would say, firstly, to those opposite that, had they bothered to deploy the proceeds of the mining boom over the previous half decade and more, they could have invested in the future productive capacity of the economy.

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