Damian Hale (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to acknowledge the contributions from the Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors and the Service Economy and the member for Corio in this very important debate on a matter of public importance today, which has been raised by the Leader of the Opposition. Sometimes you come into this place and really start to wonder where the opposition is with regard to the global financial crisis. More than 30 banks have collapsed or have been bailed out. Major economies like the USA, the UK, Germany and France have all fallen into recession. Unemployment is set to rise in practically every country around the world. Six out of 10 of our trading partners are now in recession. Growth in China and Japan, two of our largest markets for exports, has slowed dramatically. In December China had its slowest growth in seven years and Japan had its largest contraction since the 1974 oil shock. But we continually come in here and find that it is as if the opposition is in denial as to what is actually occurring around the world.

What we as a government had to do was to take action. We took action to cushion Australia against the full impact of this global recession. The government has been early and decisive, and it has been proven, because we have not had the same effect as a lot of other countries have experienced; we are in front of the game. Unfortunately, we have had to take out a deficit in doing so, but we are in front of the game and we are better situated than a lot of other countries. It was done by guaranteeing bank deposits in order to shore up our own financial institutions and by setting up the Australian Business Investment Partnership.

It was necessary to stimulate the economy, and we did that by putting money into the economy in December, which was welcomed in my electorate of Solomon. I have spoken to small business owners in Solomon who have said that they were able to keep staff on through December and January, when they usually might have had to put staff off; that there was demand in the economy; and that it was working. People were very grateful for that. We increased the first home owners grant, and that has enabled companies to stimulate work, because young people are now able to get into the market, something that was not happening under the previous government. Retail trade rose 3.8 per cent in December, so there were things that were measurable and that rose due to that stimulus package.

So why did we come in here today on this very important issue? It is mind blowing. ‘The failure of the government to position the Australian economy for job creation’ is what was said. I look forward to reading the papers over the next few days to find out what really happened in that party room to the Leader of the Opposition today, because what happened was that the member for Stirling and the Leader of the Opposition came in here and straightaway went on to bashing unions. That is what they do. That is in their DNA, as the Prime Minister says; it is about bashing unions. It is the only way that the Leader of the Opposition could save face today, because once again he has been rolled by the member for Higgins in the party room. I think the Leader of the Opposition is a pretty decent bloke. He has some good things on climate change, but they rolled him on that. Now they have done him over once again on Work Choices, because they really believe in Work Choices. He wants to strike Work Choices away; the member for Higgins and the old guard have done him over once again today in the party room. The only way that he could try to save face with those members was to come into this place today on this MPI and not talk about jobs; it was about getting into the unions and union bashing—scaremongering once again to the Australian public about unions coming into workplaces. Modern unions work well with modern business.

It is amazing that he would use this. People like Saul Eslake say that the December quarter GDP figures would have been weaker without the government spending. There are people who support our package. There are people who believe in that package. The Leader of the Opposition just walks both sides of the street on this: one day he will say one thing and the next day he will do another. He just makes it up as he goes along. It is clear to everyone that the only job that the Leader of the Opposition really wants to support and save is his own job. He does not care about the Australian public at all. (Time expired)

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