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

so that more working families' kids could get university—people who are qualified to go but under the previous regime could not find a place. So you are going to have more kids at university; more opportunities for those pursuing the trades, through hundreds of trades-training centres; and wired libraries across the entire school system so our kids can be plugged into the best teaching facilities across the country.

Then my colleague the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, is laying out world-class infrastructure through a proper decision-making process called Infrastructure Australia for road, for rail, for ports—across the entire spectrum. Without basic economic infrastructure, the nation's economic fundamentals cannot be guaranteed.

That brings me, of course, to high-speed broadband, broadband which will be world class, 100 megabits-plus per second, in order to plug us into the information economy of the 21st century, to make sure, as I said in question time earlier today, that our brothers and sisters in the bush are not disadvantaged—every Australian, rich or poor, country or city, with access to the information superhighway. If you are a small business operating out of Wangaratta, you have as much opportunity to get your product or your service to market as you have if you are running a business in the central business district of Sydney. That is our belief in laying the foundations of the nation's house.

We have also been in the business of constructing the walls. We have been pursuing a vigorous and strong foreign policy. We have—through both the Minister for Defence, who is now retiring from politics, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and also through the actions of multiple ministers—built the best set of bilateral relationships in Australia's region that we have had in this country's postwar history. That is just a fact. And we have been building a robust defence. We have major capital ships rolling off the production line. We have them about to join the ranks of the Australian Navy. We have also, of course, been working to improve Emergency Management Australia. These are all about how we maintain the security of the house. We are building the walls to make sure that they are robust against those threats which may come against us.

Then, on top of that, we have been not just laying the foundations with the economy, not just building the walls in terms of security, but also, in completing the house, constructing a roof for the protection of all. And, by doing that, we are making sure that those suffering from disabilities are properly cared for so that all Australians can have proper protection should they suffer disability. We are investing $1 billion over four years to start rolling out the first stage of DisabilityCare Australia. In superannuation, we are raising the rate from nine to 12 per cent. In pensions, 3.5 million pensioners will be up to $207 a fortnight better off for singles and $236 better off for couples—the biggest pension increase in Australia's history. In health, we have invested $4.6 billion in dental care and we have invested some $16.4 billion in the hospital system. For the information of the Leader of the Opposition, the level of federal funding of national expenditure on hospitals at the time at which the government of which he was a minister left office was 38.7 per cent; we are now on track to raise that to 50 per cent. There is a simple difference—building a roof under which people can be protected should they fall ill. There is a $2.2 billion investment in mental health. In aged care, there is a $3.7 billion reform package by the minister who has been responsible for that.

Then, beyond our task of laying the foundations, building the walls and constructing a roof for the protection of all, we have also been concerned about the environment beyond as well. We have acted on the environment. My colleague today referred to the achievements that we have delivered in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. This is the first time in the Federation's history that we have a plan to manage the most important ecosystem in the country's interior. I congratulate the minister for his work. It is a plan we took to the previous election in 2007. We have worked on it and done the hard policy work. We have acted on climate change. We have brought in a price on carbon. On top of that, we have also brought in a mandatory renewable energy target of 20 per cent. Australia's emissions are going down and, as a result of all that, we are ensuring that the environment surrounding the great house called Australia is properly protected.

So I say to the Leader of the Opposition as we enter this period leading up to the national election that our task in politics is to build the nation's house up—lay strong foundations in the economy, in education and in infrastructure; build secure walls through our Defence Force and a strong foreign policy; and construct a roof which protects all Australians when they get into strife, whether through disability or through mental illness or other forms of illness—and to look after the environment as well. But I would say to the Leader of the Opposition—

Mr Abbott interjecting—

Regrettably, he seems to scoff and mock throughout this entire presentation. I would say this to him: his politics is not about building the house up; regrettably, his comfort zone is tearing the house down. I welcome the debate I will have with him at the National Press Club soon. (Time expired)

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