Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am pleased to rise to speak in this debate to take note of answers. For a number of weeks now, the Prime Minister has been asking the Leader of the Opposition to stand up and tell us what he believes in, to stand up and tell us his policies for the country. It has taken a while, but I am happy to say that today the member for Wentworth stood up. Now we know where he stands. Now we know whose side he is really on. His decision today to block the $42 billion stimulus package shows he is completely out of touch with the state of Australia’s economy, with the state of the global economy and, most importantly, with the suffering that Australian families, workers and small businesses are experiencing because of the global recession. They will continue to suffer in the future because of his decision.

The only plan that the Leader of the Opposition has for the global recession is to leave it to the market. The solution for Malcolm Turnbull and merchant bankers is: ‘Don’t intervene; let the market decide. Let’s wait and see how far the stock market will crash, what bargains will be available for the scavenger funds and what portfolios merchant bankers might pick up on the cheap.’ This is what Malcolm Turnbull, the Leader of the Opposition, stands for. He has never stood for working families. He has never stood for small businesses. He stands for greed and his own ego.

It has been very interesting to hear today senators on the opposite side of the chamber talk about the October stimulus package. The Leader of the Opposition today mentioned the first stimulus package and called it a ‘cash splash’. It is now a cash splash. I thought I remembered the Leader of the Opposition and senators on the other side of the chamber supporting the stimulus package. I took a bit of time and went to the Liberal Party website. I do not spend too much time there, but I enjoyed it today. I found that on Tuesday, 14 October, at a Turnbull press conference, he talked about the so-called ‘cash splash’. He said:

… we welcome the Government’s announcement today, especially for Australia’s age pensioners.

…            …            …

But nonetheless we are not going to argue about the composition of the package or quibble about it. It has our support. It will provide a stimulus to the economy, that’s for certain.

That is not the Prime Minister saying that; it is the Leader of the Opposition. And today it is a cash splash. That just proves who and what Malcolm Turnbull really is. I am very happy that when he got up today the real Malcolm Turnbull stood up. Finally, Australians will see what kind of a leader he is.