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

Anybody’s rehearsal would be better than yours on Sunday, mate—that’s all I can say. The confusion on the part of the opposition and the inability to establish a coherent position on economic management, on whether or not we should invest in infrastructure, on what spending position and what overall fiscal setting should apply and on what position should apply with respect to monetary policy, are undermining the ability of the government to tackle the global financial crisis and the consequences that apply for Australia. We will not be diverted by the misconceived amendments that are being put forward in the Senate seeking to wreck the government’s nation-building funds legislation from within. The government proposes to vote against those amendments and will stand by its legislation, to continue to invest for the future of Australia and to continue to invest in battling and pushing back against the very powerful downward economic pressures.

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