Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. As I have said in this House many times, the Australian economy is transitioning from one driven by the mining-construction boom to one that is able to take advantage of these the most exciting times in Australia's history. The opportunities that are available to Australians are greater than ever but they are not without challenges. The road to the new economy is an exciting one but we have to make sure we take the right decisions to stay on track. That is why every lever of government policy is working to support this transition.

We know the key to a successful economy and to the jobs of the future is innovation so we launched in December a $1.1 billion national innovation and science agenda encouraging investment, promoting technology and ensuring that our best researchers in our universities collaborate with business. The defence white paper last week is built around innovation. Every element of it recognises that for Australia to have the best defence force of the 21st century, we need to be innovative. We need to rely upon, encourage, enhance Australian ingenuity and technology—and we were witnessing some of that with the defence minister earlier today.

There is a lawlessness in the construction sector where one million Australians work. We have just had a royal commission which underlined what we all knew—that the rule of law must be restored—and so we seek to reinstate—

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