Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Finance Minister on Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

The tactics will not allow you to ask a question of me, because you are afraid of the answer and afraid of the truth, which is what I would give to you: the truth, so that we cut through this rubbish, this recklessness and this opportunism of the coalition, which is seeking to talk the economy down at every opportunity and seeking to misrepresent the employment figures for this country. They entered into this debate on a day in which business surveys are revealing good and encouraging news. What did they do? They came in here and complained, saying, ‘It’s really bad; you’re not doing enough for small business.’ If you had supported the stimulus package, you might have at least a little bit of an argument. You could say, ‘We could do a bit more.’ But no, you opposed the stimulus package and you opposed the investment in nation building infrastructure.

There is a member on the back bench nodding proudly: the member for Bowman. ‘Yeah, we opposed it; look at us; we’re the heroes of small business.’ What are you doing for our tradies? Just yesterday, the Australian Business Investment Partnership hit the fence. Why? Now the jobs of 50,000 tradies are at risk. You should be ashamed of yourselves. And you come into this parliament asking, ‘What are you doing for small business?’ I say: what are you doing for small business? Why are you talking the economy down? Why are you betraying our tradies? It is because of base political instincts to do with your self preservation and your desire to remain on the front bench in the reshuffle. It has been a poor performance by you: dusty at the midwinter ball; dusty next week. You should give it away and get someone who can come in here and engage in a proper and constructive debate and talk the economy up instead of talking the economy down.

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