Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

But I think we are stuck with the current arrangements at least for my lifetime and I suspect for some time to come. Given that we are stuck with the partnership, we all need to work very hard at making it stick. It is not just in infrastructure, it is not just in health, it is not just in education, it is also in vocational education and training.

That takes me back to a point I was making earlier. I have been pushing very hard within the government in recent months to help deliver what we delivered on Tuesday night with respect to the long-term unemployed, sole parents who could be working and the too many people on disability pensions who I am sure could be working. But it is not just a role for the Commonwealth; the states will be crucial on this issue. They have departments and agencies at the state level which will need to work in partnership and cooperation with the Commonwealth. This is a big challenge for the country but one we must tackle. If we get it wrong we will all collectively be condemned for passing up an opportunity that only really comes not in a generation but maybe once in every three generations, and that is to ensure that we break the cycle of poverty, we give people meaning in life and we get them out of the psychology of accepting welfare payments and back into work. (Time expired)

See this speech in context