Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I notice that the Leader of the National Party intervened about a road between Cooroy and Curra. Is that right? That is a part of the world known to me and to him, and it is in his electorate. As transport minister he took not a single action; as local member he took not a single action. He represents a constituency where, he said in today’s paper, he drives with fear and trembling because of the road accidents there—but he did nothing. This government is providing funding for an investment in his electorate because national needs determined it should be there. He has a record of zero action. We have a record of commitment to action and we have funding on the table to do it.

Also today, with the member for Hunter, I participated in the launch of the Hunter Valley rail. This is an important project as well, because we turned a sod on one of those projects funded under the Australian government’s $4.7 billion nation-building statement of last December. The construction of the third rail track on the main northern railway in the Hunter is part of the government’s $1.2 billion investment in the Australian Rail Track Corporation. The government have invested more in rail freight in its first 18 months than the previous government did in 12 years. There are six rail projects across the Hunter being delivered as a result of our investment, creating up to 650 jobs in the local area.

These are practical actions which demonstrate our approach to dealing with the recession—supporting jobs, small business and business more generally today in order to create the infrastructure for tomorrow. Our approach to this recession is to embark upon a clear-cut strategy for the future. To make these investments it is necessary for the government to have temporary deficit and temporary debt. The Leader of the Opposition says that he does not support the government’s current level of deficit and debt to invest in infrastructure, to support jobs and to respond to the recession. That is what he said. The Liberal Party Treasury spokesman said yesterday that he supports $25 billion less debt than the government. Tonight, therefore, the Leader of the Opposition—

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