Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

It is quite apparent to me that Senator Ferguson has forgotten a great deal in his transition from being President to Deputy President. Perhaps we should remind him. The simple facts of life are these: there have been 23,000 new jobs created in manufacturing in the period in which the government has been in office. This follows a period of profound neglect by the previous government. For the Deputy President of this Senate to assert that the decision with regard to Mitsubishi was the responsibility of this government—it occurred within one month, if I recall rightly, of us being sworn in—strikes me as grossly hypocritical at best.