Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister outline why, after 12 years of neglect, Australia needs to embark upon a new era of nation building?

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

If we look at the challenges facing the Australian economy at present, the global economic circumstances are difficult. We have a global financial crisis, we have significant falls on global stock markets and we also have a huge spike in global oil prices and food prices. All of these factors are affecting the state of the global economy, which is why five of the world’s top seven industrial economies have already generated negative growth in the last quarter or so. In Australia, our challenges are compounded by the record of the today absent member for Higgins as Treasurer of Australia. He is possibly out to lunch. Alex is not here anymore, so perhaps there is not a luncheon partner available.

The record of the member for Higgins in this respect is that, in the period when those opposite were in government, we experienced 10 interest rate rises in a row. This meant that, by the time we won office at the end of last year, Australians were paying interest rates which were the second highest in the developed world. Although those opposite do not want to hear this, the consequence of those interest rate rises resulted in the Liberals providing a $400-a-month interest rate hike for working families. Our response to that is responsible economic management. Our response to that is to ensure that we are prosecuting a national program of economic reform based on an education revolution, on building the nation’s infrastructure and on assisting working families, pensioners and carers on the way through with a package of payments. Some $55 billion for working families and $7.5 billion for pensioners and carers have been provided through the budget.

The honourable member asked specifically about one element of our economic strategy, and that goes to nation building. I would draw the attention of honourable members opposite to the figures which were released by the ABS last week which show that new capital spending in Australia hit a record $86.4 billion for the last financial year to June 2008. This is the highest final capex figure on record, and it shows an increase of 11.4 per cent from 2006 to 2007. I say to those opposite to also focus on this number, though it may not suit their current economic and political narrative, which is that the ABS has forecast capital expenditure—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

This is for those opposite who are interested in talking the economy down—such as the honourable member who is currently interjecting. The ABS has forecast capital expenditure for the current financial year to rise by $99.75 billion. That is nearly $100 billion. This is the highest forecast on record. These are good figures for the Australian economy, particularly given the challenges which the economy is facing globally.

The honourable member referred to facts concerning his own electorate, and I respect the accuracy of what he has put forward today. Let me also put on the record some other facts which relate to capital projects underway across Australia. IBM has announced that it will set up a $10.8 million IT services centre at the Ballarat technology park, creating 300 new jobs in that city. In June, glass bottle maker Amcor announced a major expansion of the company’s manufacturing facility in Gawler. Amcor will invest $150 million to build a third furnace at that facility to increase capacity by up to 50 per cent. The port and rail infrastructure contract at Oakajee has been awarded an estimated investment of $3 billion. Ausminerals has committed $1 billion to an investment at the Prominent Hill copper gold project in South Australia, which will create 850 construction jobs and about 450 ongoing jobs.

Mr Hockey interjecting—

The member for North Sydney says that these are all thought bubbles. I would ask the member for Sydney to go to each of those business leaders—

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I ask the Prime Minister if these events occurred at all on the election of the Rudd government. Of course, they are projects—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member will resume his seat. He knows that a point of order is not an opportunity to ask a supplementary question.

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

Coming from the member for North Sydney, who, at the beginning of this year, deliberately embarked upon a strategy to talk the Australian economy down, I find that a remarkable intervention on behalf of those opposite. He should reflect carefully on the statements he made earlier this year before he makes an intervention like that. Of course, for those opposite, it makes for uncomfortable tidings when their political and economic narrative, to the extent that they have one, goes to one organising principle: how do you talk the Australian economy down?

We are saying that, if you look at the private sectors’ capital investment record for the year just concluded, the forecast for the year ahead is for some $100 billion worth of capital investment by private firms in Australia, including the four or five examples which I have just read out. This causes you to conclude that the Australian private sector is getting on with the business of expanding its operations, notwithstanding the challenges which currently exist. The Commonwealth Bank’s chief economist, Michael Blythe, said that the capex data demonstrates:

... that the changes to business confidence and the slowdown in the first half of the year and concerns about the global credit crunch haven’t dented the positive story for Australia.

Of course, that does not fit the scenario which those opposite wish to construct. That is what the private sector is doing. We on this side of the House are a party and a government of nation building. We believe that we have a responsibility to partner with the private sector in building the nation. Those opposite—and how many times did we hear this from the member for Higgins when he was Treasurer of Australia—have no place, no role whatsoever, out there building the nation’s infrastructure. I remember one famous intervention when there was a debate in this place about whether urban water should be a legitimate product of national investment by the national government. What did the member for Higgins, the then Treasurer, say? He said: ‘Not my problem. Blame the states.’ It is always ‘blame the states’.

Our attitude is that the Australian people are fed up with one level of government blaming the other as to why the nation’s economic infrastructure is in such a poor state. Instead, they want the government of the nation to embark upon a rational investment strategy for the future. That is why our $76 billion nation-building program for the country will provide funds of $26 billion through AusLink 2 and $20 billion through the Building Australia Fund for transport, energy and water priorities. There will be $5 billion in a national broadband network. Those opposite would, I think, find it difficult to spell ‘broadband’, let alone construct one. We will invest $15 billion in education infrastructure through the Education Investment Fund and $11 billion through the health and hospitals infrastructure fund, which we have also created. This is a $76 billion plan for nation building. That is part of a strategy for Australia’s future. In this way, we are seeking to partner with the Australian private sector in building the nation. In this place, you can either choose to be shirkers like those opposite or you can get on with the business of building the nation. You can either lean on your shovel, as those opposite did for 12 years, or you can get on with the business of rolling up your sleeves and building the nation’s infrastructure.

Let me tell you that what we see through the capital expenditure data produced by the ABS is a private sector determined to get out there and build the nation’s infrastructure. We on this side of the House, the government, are determined to help build the nation’s infrastructure. We intend to do this road by road, port by port, cable by cable, university by university and trade skill by trade skill across the country, whereas those opposite simply have a script which says, ‘That’s not our problem.’ We say, for the nation, we intend to partner with the private sector in constructing the nation’s infrastructure. We are a government of nation building; those opposite have an excuse for inertia—inertia altogether.