Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Listening to the speakers from the other side of the House, you can tell how out of touch they are. They are totally unable to come to terms with the fact that the global financial crisis was not caused by the Rudd government: it is a global financial crisis. I put it to them that the Rudd government is leading the way and being a model for the rest of the world in how to deal with the global financial crisis. One of the Howard government’s legacies to Australia is the fact that in the good times they failed to invest in infrastructure. Now the Rudd Labor government is showing them just how it should be done, by making a massive investment in infrastructure through its national infrastructure fund.

In my own electorate, there have been numerous projects funded. As recently as today, through the nation-building package, I was notified that $80,000 is going to be spent on local roads—on the Pacific Highway at Flowers Drive and at Cams Wharf and $30,000 at Gorokan. These are very important policies that invest in local infrastructure whilst at the same time investing in local jobs. The Rudd government has also invested over $500 million in the ARTC in the Hunter, which will lead to indirect investment of more than $1 billion.

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