Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. At a time when the global recession washes over Australia it is important not only that the government provide leadership but also that the parliament provide leadership to get Australia through these troubled times, and that is what we have been doing, of course, with the Economic Security Strategy and the Nation Building and Jobs Plan to help Australian jobs. And that is what we want to continue to do with the Australian Business Investment Partnership—an initiative in a sector with $150,000 jobs on the line, an initiative the Leader of the Opposition is determined to oppose.

It is one thing when the Leader of the Opposition tries to wreck government policy to save his own job; it is another when he risks the jobs of thousands of other Australians to do so. There is no clearer demonstration of the Leader of the Opposition’s approach—which is to say anything but do nothing—than their response to the government’s stimulus packages. On 14 October, honourable members might recall the Leader of the Opposition setting out the coalition’s position on the Economic Security Strategy. He said:

… we are not going to argue about the composition of the package or quibble about it. It has our support. It will provide a stimulus to the economy, that’s for certain.

And honourable members might not recall that he went on to say, ‘But in any event, much of it, if not most of it, will be spent.’ This is the same Leader of the Opposition who said, on 4 March:

Now you’ll remember that last year we said the cash splash in December would be saved rather than being spent. In other words, it wouldn’t be an effective … stimulus.

The same bloke said both things. The Leader of the Opposition is taking the approach that, if you take many positions on every question facing the nation, one of them is bound to be right. That is his approach. And he is also taking to heart the old adage that even a broken clock is right twice a day, and his leadership is certainly broken because he is putting his job in front of the jobs of so many thousands of Australian families.

I am asked about the government’s plans to cushion the impact of the global recession on Australia. As well as the initiatives that have been mentioned, it is also important that the government’s legislation to crack down on serious cartel conduct pass the parliament. There is plenty of expert commentary to note that, in difficult economic times, cartel conduct increases. Cartels rip off consumers and are unfair to businesses doing the right thing. Can I say, in fairness, how encouraging it has been to hear the support of the opposition. The shadow minister, the member for Cowper—my honourable friend the member for Cowper—indicated support for the government’s cartel legislation. He said:

I believe that if an executive from the big end of town is ripping off the Australian public, he should face the consequences.

And the Liberal senators on the Senate Standing Committee on Economics supported a unanimous report recommending that our bill be passed. So imagine my surprise when I read in the Financial Review that an opposition backbencher rose in the Liberal Party room to oppose support for the government’s cartel bill, to oppose cracking down on cartels. I am indebted to the Financial Review for letting us know it was the member for Higgins. This is a concern, because we all know that, when the member for Higgins talks, the member for Wentworth jumps. We all know that is how it works. We saw that in the jobs and nation building package, we saw it in emissions trading. The Leader of the Opposition needs to assure us that he is not going to let the tail wag the dog this time. Show a bit of leadership and stand up to the member for Higgins and confirm the opposition’s support for cartel conduct.

We know from the financial review that the other member to talk in the Liberal Party room against cracking down on cartel conduct was our old friend the member for Mackellar. Perhaps the member for Mackellar used the same argument that she did in the House. That argument was that cartels are not all bad; they help keep the value of diamonds high. Talk about that for being in touch! The Leader of the Opposition needs to stop letting the tail wag the dog. He needs to back the government’s commonsense approach and back Australian small business and families. He needs to start putting the interests of Australian workers ahead of his own self-interest.

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