Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As the end of 2011 draws near, I take this opportunity to reflect on the past year. This has been a significant year—one that this Labor government is proud of, one that has achieved historic reforms. In a year when the opposition and, in particular, the Leader of the Opposition have continually said no, no, no, the Prime Minister and the federal Labor government have moved from talking about the importance of key reforms to taking action.

It is this Labor government that has kept this economy strong by protecting jobs, driving new growth and creating opportunity. This government knows, and I know, that there are challenges ahead, both globally and domestically. I know that people in my electorate are still finding it tough to make ends meet. It is for this very reason that this government is making decisions that will support jobs not just for today but into the future. Labor made the right decisions during the global financial crisis to keep people in jobs and deliver economic stimulus to drive growth. We have created 750,000 new jobs since 2007.

Local jobs have been supported through nation-building projects, including the Building the Education Revolution. We all know that the opposition have tried hard to paint the BER projects as a failure. However, not one parent, not one student, not one principal, not one construction worker in the electorate of Petrie has been dissatisfied. In fact, every time I go to a BER opening, the construction company, the school and the parents thank me as a representative of the federal Labor government for the new facilities they have.

In just the last 10 weeks, I have opened Moreton Downs State School's new multipurpose hall and new library, Woody Point Special School's new outdoor learning area, Aspley State High School's new science centre, St Benedict's primary school's new multipurpose hall, North Lakes State College's new multipurpose hall and Bracken Ridge State School's new multipurpose hall. I will also be opening Scarborough State School's new hall on 8 December. I heard the member for Blair mentioning his schools.

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