Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I hope they are reconsidering because I am sure that the view in both caucus rooms and in both houses of this parliament is to bring pressure to bear on the ANZ and any other banks which make similar decisions to offshore jobs. I am sure other members in this place have had some very angry ANZ customers contact them. I had one today who told me they are withdrawing their funds. They know that on an individual level it may not register with the bank, but I assured them that we will try to register their disquiet over the decision by ANZ in this place.

We all know that late last year we introduced our Economic Security Strategy to try to maintain and try to sustain jobs, particularly over the last quarter, and to try and stimulate the economy. Those opposite are happy to call it a ‘cash splash’ and I would like to remind them where that cash went. It was not a splash at all. It was strategically targeted and the results show that it had its effects. Whilst other countries had a decline particularly in their consumer index over the same quarter, Australia’s increased. The strategy provided much support to the retail industry in particular. We had the one-off pension payments gratefully accepted by those who are struggling but opposed by those opposite. We had one-off carers payments gratefully accepted but opposed by those opposite. We had one-off seniors payments to Commonwealth seniors health card holders and eligible veterans gold card holders gratefully accepted but opposed by those opposite. We had family tax benefit A payments of $1,000 per eligible child gratefully accepted but opposed by those opposite. On top of this, the Productivity Places Program expanded the number of trainee places. Again, it was gratefully accepted and needed in our economy but opposed by those opposite.

The first home owners boost—additional payments between October 2008 and June 2009—has been very gratefully accepted, as has been our able economic management in keeping interest rates down. That has stimulated the building industry and the home and real estate industries. We know that the boost is fuelling that industry now. It certainly is in my home state and it certainly is in my electorate of Braddon. It has been gratefully accepted by all those that benefit from it—not just the buyers and sellers but all those who are involved in the building industry. It has been gratefully accepted by them but opposed by those opposite.

You would have thought that after that lesson those opposite might have analysed the results and been supportive of further stimulus packages to try to keep and sustain jobs and to maintain our economy. Indeed the $42 billion stimulus package of the Nation Building and Jobs Plan, by its nature, has a short-term and longer-term objective, just as the Economic Security Strategy did, particularly in shoring up those infrastructure funds for health and education, and major transport and other infrastructure. Unfortunately it was voted against by those opposite.

You would have thought they would support the $42 billion stimulus package which is now rolling out throughout our electorates. Part of that was the short-term stimulus of $12.2 billion to low- and middle-income families, couples and singles, students, the unemployed and drought-affected farmers. That has been gratefully accepted but was opposed by those opposite. It is quite extraordinary.

I can tell you that the $14.7 billion that has been allocated to education is most gratefully accepted. It will not only help enhance the education revolution that we started some time ago—and also help with the improvement of teaching and learning in all our schools by creating better conditions for that to take place, and which is so important to us—but also stimulate the construction industry and all those service industries that are going to provide their services and their materials for this massive amount of construction.

New school libraries, multipurpose halls and classrooms will be upgraded in primary schools. It will be a record investment in primary education. I am sure everyone in this room has seen their primary schools jumping for joy and saying: ‘Thank you very much. This is how we want to stimulate our teaching and learning and improve it. It will also help stimulate our local economy.’ But it was voted against by those opposite, and they have the gall to come into the House and criticise us for it.

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