Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How is the government delivering on its economic and legislative agenda? How has this been received? What is the government's response?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Chief Government Whip for his question. We are concluding a parliamentary fortnight in which the government has got on with building the nation's future as the opposition has simply focused its sights on destroying the government. We have had our eyes focused on the future of millions of Australians; they have had their eyes focused on themselves, driven by self-interest every step of the way. We have had our eyes focused on prudent budget management; they have had their eyes focused in despair on trying to cover up a $70 billion black hole. We still do not know where the cuts are going to fall, how many pensioners are going to feel the pain, how many hospitals are going to feel the pain, how many schools are going to feel the pain and how much is going to be taken out of the defence of our nation. We just do not know.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Order!

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I say to the Leader of the Opposition that, if he cannot take it, he should just keep moving back. We have been focused on managing the economy of this nation. We have been focused on working with the resources sector as it grows, hungry for workers, hungry for skills and hungry for infrastructure. We have been focused on working with those industries that are feeling the burden of the high Australian dollar—manufacturing, tourism and international education.

In this parliament we have passed 185 bills, remarkably 22 of them in the last fortnight. They have been world-leading bills like the plain paper packaging proposal, where, of course, we had to fight every step of the way to get the Liberal Party to break its addiction to big tobacco and do the right thing by Australians who suffer tobacco addiction. We have passed legislation for superannuation because Labor is and always will be the party of superannuation. We brought it in against the trenchant opposition of the Liberal Party. They fought it every step of the way. They said it would destroy Australian jobs. They said it would destroy the Australian economy. Does that sound familiar? The Liberal Party in full flight for a scare campaign. We have continued to deliver superannuation reform.

We have continued to deliver our agenda in child care. When we came to government no-one cared about the ability of early childhood education to change life chances and to make a difference for the most disadvantaged children. No-one cared about any of that and no-one cared about the pressure on working families as they paid their childcare costs. We are very proud that we have increased the childcare tax rebate to 50 per cent. We focus day after day on increasing the quality of early childhood education, which is good for all children, particularly good for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Opposition members interjecting—

I am not surprised that members opposite are talking through that, because life chances of Australian children do not motivate them at all. Then, of course, this week we have passed another NBN bill, and they want to rip the National Broadband Network out of the ground, and we passed a carbon farming bill, something they have opposed but now said they will not take away.

In the meantime the Liberal Party has been out advertising desperately trying to attract new candidates. I suspect the curriculum, if you want to be a Liberal Party candidate, is just learn to say 'No', and to help them on their way I table how to say 'No' in 500 languages. It will come in very handy for them. (Time expired)

I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.