Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Deakin for his question. I know that the member for Deakin, like other Labor members here, is concerned about structural change in our economy and concerned about the impact on working Australians. Labor members understand that our economy is strong by the standards of the world. We can hold our heads up proudly, having worked together during the global financial crisis—government working with employers, employers working with unions, and unions working with representatives of civil society, including those who provide emergency relief to those in difficult circumstances to bring our nation through so that we can now present with a growing economy, low unemployment, strong public finances and strong banks.

To chart the course for the future, we need to understand what has been achieved and understand the dynamics of change. Those dynamics will be driven in part by the aftershocks from the global financial crisis, including what is happening in Europe. Those changes will in part be driven by the rise of our region and the spectacular growth in countries like China, India and Indonesia. Those changes will be driven by the strong Australian dollar and will be fed by a huge pipeline investment—more than $400 billion into resources alone. That is driving jobs and prosperity not just in the mining sector but also in businesses in other sectors that serve the mining industry—in construction, in services and in highly skilled jobs working with mining. So there is this opportunity for our nation. But it will be joined by other opportunities as we see a growing middle class in our region that will want to buy the things we have: great food, good wine, good tourism, international education, the best of legal services and beyond. We can seize those opportunities, but these are days of change and days of pressure. That pressure is falling on the shoulders of workers in areas like manufacturing and we are determined, as we bend change to shape the future for working people, that we will not leave those workers behind.

On the other side of politics, they want to put car industry workers on the scrap heap. On the other side of politics, they want to deny what is happening in the global economy. On the other side of politics, they want to pretend nothing is happening in our economy except a price on carbon coming on stream on 1 July. This lets the nation down. We are ready for the sophisticated economic debate this nation needs. Unfortunately, there is no one in this chamber across there to have it with. (Time expired)

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