Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Over the last 12 months how has the government worked to keep the economy strong, deliver reform and build a clean energy future?

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

I thank the member for Greenway for her question. It is an important question about national policy and the things that are most important to Australian families. Of course, the thing most important to Australians is having the benefits and dignity of work and we are determined to keep our economy strong because we know that people must be able to get access to a job. There can be no security for Australian families or Australian individuals if they cannot access a job.

That is why we worked so strongly and so hard during the days of the global financial crisis to ensure that this nation did not go into recession and to protect the jobs of 200,000 Australians to make sure that Australians had the benefits and dignity of work. Having looked after those jobs during the days of the global financial crisis, continuing to strengthen and modernise our economy is an ongoing task. That work is never finished. You need to keep strengthening, keep modernising in our world of change. That is why the government has been so determined to ensure that, in this phase of economic transformation—as we see in our economy an incredibly strong resources sector, record terms of trade and a high Australian dollar, with the implications that has, some of them positive, and the implications that also has for trade exposed areas of our economy like manufacturing, tourism and international education—we are doing the things necessary to keep our economy strong for the future.

You cannot hide from the future. You cannot wish it away. There are only two choices: either you step up and shape it or it shapes you. I am determined that our nation will make the decisions necessary to make sure that we are the shapers of our future and, in shaping our future, we will be continuing to deliver policies that modernise our economy. In delivering those policies we will be focused on the importance of skills, education and human capital and on the importance of traditional infrastructure like roads and rail and ports. Of course, we will also be focused on the infrastructure of the future, including the National Broadband Network and the microeconomic reform agenda that needs to come with that, with the structural separation of Telstra. Of course, there will also be a focus on the clean energy jobs of the future.

Yesterday it was my very great honour to bring to this parliament the Clean Energy Bill—

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

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. In this new paradigm, requiring that there be a direct relevance to the question asked, the answer is in no way meeting that criterion. It sounds more like a valedictory.

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

The member for Mackellar will resume her seat.

Opposition members interjecting—

And she is warned! The Prime Minister has the call; there was no point of order.

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

I was talking about Australian jobs, and as I do that I expect the opposition to be focused on abusing me because they have no care or concern about the employment of Australians. We have a Leader of the Opposition who slept through the legislation to support the jobs of Australians during the global financial crisis—who was so unconcerned about Australian jobs that he stayed asleep.

Yesterday I introduced in this parliament the legislation to get us the clean energy jobs of the future. This is an important national debate. I attended to listen to the Leader of the Opposition's speech this morning. I would have to say I was dismayed that he devoted only one sentence to his policy alternative. I think that is saying something about the opposition's perspective. To the clean energy jobs of the future they just say no, because for them it is always about fear and never about facts.