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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, how is the government building Australia out of recession and laying the foundations for recovery from the global recession for its nation-building agenda?

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

I thank the honourable member for Corangamite for his question because he, like various members of this House, is proud of the government’s nation-building strategy for recovery. Our nation-building strategy for recovery involves construction of infrastructure right across Australia, including in Corangamite—and including in various of those seats which were referred to in this House yesterday when it seemed that honourable members from benches opposite were pleased to attend local launch ceremonies while pretending in this chamber that they did not support the measures through the House which gave funding for those local launch ceremonies of infrastructure. I am surprised by that.

Under the Nation Building for Recovery plan, there are 115 projects underway in the member’s electorate at a cost of $49 million. These include 87 projects under the largest school modernisation program in Australia’s history across 72 schools in the Corangamite electorate. There are 18 social housing units being built. There are 10 projects under the government’s black spot and boom gates programs, including $510,000 in black spot funding for the Princes Highway West in Belmont. There is $6 million going to five local councils under the Community Infrastructure Program, including $2 million towards a wide-ranging sports facility at Bannockburn which will include new netball, football, soccer and tennis facilities for young families moving into the area.

These projects are supporting jobs and small businesses in suburbs like Ocean Grove, Torquay, Grovedale and Colac. This is part of the government’s Nation Building for Recovery plan—supporting jobs, small business and apprenticeships for today while building the infrastructure Australia needs for tomorrow. If the Liberals had their way in this House, not a single one of these 115 projects would have ever seen the light of day—not a single school would be upgraded, not a single black spot would be repaired, no social housing would be built. The contrast with those opposite is clear for all to see.

Right across the nation we have the same construction work underway—investments supporting 200,000 jobs next year and the year after. This is being done through the vehicle of investing in 35,000 projects across the country by year’s end. Let us just take a few of these as examples, because those opposite need to be put up close and personal with what is actually going on around the country. Have a look at the Cootamundra to Parkes railway upgrade. This photo shows the first of 301,000 new concrete sleepers being unloaded near Parkes to commence the Cootamundra—

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on a point of order. The rules with respect to props are very clear. The Prime Minister has a whole stack of hard-hat photographs he wants to show to the House and I ask that he not do so.

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

Order! The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

So you are not interested in a response to your point of order. There is no point of order and the honourable member for Sturt knows it quite well.

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

To the great disappointment of those opposite, members on this side of the House will be attending ceremonies right across the country, also making sure that these projects are being rolled out right across the country. Ministers will be attending in each one of the electorates represented by those right across the country, because each of those projects equals jobs, equals infrastructure, equals our nation-building strategy for recovery. The Seymour-Albury rail upgrade—here we go. This photo shows concrete resleepering work being done in the Seymour to Wondonga rail project.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

I assume that the relevant local member is not interested in this. Work will involve the laying of around 225,000 sleepers to complete an upgraded Melbourne to Sydney corridor, which has seen the laying of over one million new concrete sleepers. Again this is about nation building for recovery.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Let us see those opposite laugh and sneer about this. Here we have Defence housing in Brisbane. This is a housing site in Brisbane where 41 new Defence homes are already under construction.

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

Order! The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The member for Mackellar will resume her seat.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Order! The member for Sturt is warned. Member for Oxley, there is no need for any encouragement.

Wilson Tuckey (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. On the matter of precedent of this particular display, is it now permissible for the opposition to come in here tomorrow with cardboard cut-outs of the Prime Minister in his jacket and hard hat?

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

The member for O’Connor will resume his seat. The Prime Minister has the call.

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

The great thing about Wilson is he is always on song. For Wilson’s benefit, in the seat of O’Connor, there are 265 projects, at a value of $37.3 million. Perhaps the member for O’Connor would care to identify which in his electorate he would not wish to proceed—which of these schools would he prefer not to have upgraded? I am surprised; he is normally so quick to his feet.

Simon Crean (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He’s gone silent!

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

Nothing. What about the social housing units being constructed? Black spot and boom gate projects—there are 19 in the electorate of O’Connor, worth $5.9 million. You want none of the 23 boom gates—is that correct? Six million dollars for 48 local councils—he wants none of that. I see surprising silence on the part of the member for O’Connor.

Defence housing: near and dear to the heart of those opposite, near and dear to the heart of those in the government—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Time and again you and other Speakers have ruled out of order the use of props. Why is there an exception on the part of the Prime Minister and will you rule them out of order?

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

From time to time Speakers have ruled the use of props in order if they are used incidentally to the question.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Order! This is an opportunity for me to indicate, when I hear the interjection ‘use of a PowerPoint’, that it would be a wonderful thing if this chamber was so mature that it could actually use things like PowerPoint and photos and that was enabled for everybody. But I think that one of the problems is that, again, we have this insider’s view of the way in which the chamber operates. We do not often reflect upon how we are looked upon from outside. I will watch carefully the use of these props, but to say that they have been blanketly banned is an incorrect observation of the way in which this place has operated.

Alby Schultz (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Schultz interjecting

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

The member for Hume has a very great habit of making comments by way of interjection on the Speaker. I think the reference that he is making he well and truly understands was deserving of the action that was taken on that fateful day of last year. I will listen to the Manager of Opposition Business, but he should understand that this will not be an occasion to abuse the opportunity that he has in speaking to a point of order which I have already ruled on.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, the member for Mackellar raised a point of order which you have quite correctly ruled on from your opinion of the standing orders. You did, however, in doing so, say that the standing orders said that props were entitled to be used incidentally to the question. But I would put it to you, with due respect, that the Prime Minister is not using these props incidentally; they form the major part of his answer to the question, which has now been going for almost eight minutes, and if you expect the House to maintain its decorum—

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

The member will resume his seat. I thank him for his observation. It will not dissuade me from my ruling. I will just add another observation of the eight minutes that this has been going on—only five minutes of them have been an answer.

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

I thank the honourable member for Mackellar for her intervention, as, given that she is wearing her own high-visibility vest today, she is obviously entering into the spirit of the occasion in terms of launching infrastructure projects across the nation. Also, Manager of Opposition Business, in the electorate of Sturt there are 82 projects, worth an investment of $40 million. Perhaps the member for Sturt, given he comes to the dispatch box so frequently, could identify which of those 82 projects he would not wish to support—82 projects in 48 schools, $34.5 million into the schools in Sturt. These are funded under the February package, Building the Education Revolution, which those opposite are—supporting or opposing? It is hard to work out. What about the $4 million for the Campbelltown Public Library redevelopment—supporting or opposing? Hmm, there is an interesting silence again on the part of both the member for Sturt, surprisingly, and the member for O’Connor, equally surprisingly.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Previously, you have ruled that the Prime Minister, in asking members of the opposition to answer questions, knows that they are not entitled to do so, and you said the Prime Minister should desist from doing so the last time this occurred. He is doing it again today. If he wants to be able to give us the facility to answer—

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

The member for Sturt will resume his seat. The Prime Minister has the call.

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

Oh, how sensitive they are about infrastructure construction! I would say to those opposite: with each one of these 35,000 projects across the nation, we will be there participating in each of them, including in those electorates where the local members are pretending they are not supporting them.

With respect to defence housing, I hold up this illustration of 41 new defence homes already under construction. Just two months have elapsed between the announcement of the stimulus plan and the start of construction of these homes. The Defence Housing Authority has been provided with $251 million—

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

Prime Minister, I think that members have the picture.

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Energy and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Randall interjecting

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

The member for Canning should be very careful. He should not think that anything has been set as a precedent for that type of behaviour.

Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Energy and Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Randall interjecting

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

People around the place raising signs. You know.

Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Science and Personnel) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order going to relevance. If the Prime Minister is going to show photos, he could at least show ones with him wearing a hard hat!

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

Order! The member for Paterson may leave the chamber for one hour under standing order 94(a).

The member for Paterson then left the chamber.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker—

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

No. The Manager of Opposition Business can resume his seat.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Pyne interjecting

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

The Manager of Opposition Business is named.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the member for Sturt be suspended from the service of the House.

Question put.

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

Order! The honourable member for Sturt is suspended from the service of the House for 24 hours under standing order 94(b).

The member for Sturt then left the chamber.

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

Therefore, the government’s strategy—nation building for recovery—is clear: supporting jobs, supporting small business and supporting apprenticeships, right across the nation today, by investing in the infrastructure we need for tomorrow. That is why we are taking strong and decisive action to achieve this on the ground—infrastructure like rail, road, ports, broadband, solar energy and the biggest school modernisation program in Australia’s history. This is investment that supports more than 200,000 jobs that would otherwise be destroyed as a consequence of the recession. The government has rightly stepped in to fill the gap left by a private sector in retreat because of the global economic recession. The government has rightly decided to invest 70 per cent of its stimulus in nation-building infrastructure. This is a strategy for the future. It is a positive strategy for the future. It is a government which is in the business of building the economy up, rather than an opposition seeking to tear and talk the economy down.