Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks to the member for Holt for her question and for the characteristically thoughtful contribution she made just before question time earlier today. We said we would create a National Reconstruction Fund and we are. I pay tribute to the former shadow minister, the minister and the Prime Minister for making progress on this really important part of our economic plan.

The need for the National Reconstruction Fund is really clear. When we came to office, there were obvious weaknesses in our supply chains. There were obvious consequences from a decade of energy policy chaos, and our industrial base was not wide enough or deep enough. All that meant our economy was not resilient enough at a time of extreme global volatility. This puts upward pressure on inflation. It is one of the reasons why inflation was already rising before the change of government and why interest rates were also rising before the election as well. It is why making our supply chains more resilient is such an important part of our efforts to address the inflation challenge. The National Reconstruction Fund is all about grabbing the chances that come with a changing economy. It is all about creating more economic opportunities for more people in more parts of our country, including the regions and especially when it comes to manufacturing.

It is a comical coincidence that in the same week that those opposite claim to be the party of the working class they say they will be voting against manufacturing jobs in this country. While it is disappointing, it is not especially surprising. Those characters have form. They have always seen manufacturing as something to chase away from our economy rather than something to support. They voted against taking some of the sting out of the gas prices, which were hollowing out manufacturers and risking sending them to the wall. They voted against the direct assistance for households and small businesses, and they wasted money in the budget at a time of rising inflation.

Over on this side of the House, we are interested in the solutions to our big economic challenges. Those opposite are part of the problem and that is why they are showing that, once again, with their opposition to the National Reconstruction Fund. We have always been the party for working people and we always will be. We have always been the party for manufacturing and we always will be. We are the only party in here with a plan to address the inflation challenge by making our economy more resilient and by making our budget more responsible at the same time by broadening and deepening our industrial base, by working with the private sector to grow the economy the right way and by backing the high-skill, high-wage jobs of the future.

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