Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is no wonder Senator Joyce wants a divorce—absolutely no wonder. Your leadership problems are so big, so great, that you do not have anywhere to go other than scare campaigns. They go into their party room and they fight and squabble. They go onto the floor of the House of Representatives and they fight and squabble. They come here and tell Senator Joyce what to do and he nods his head, saying, ‘What will I do?’ It is just pathetic; it really is. You are a pathetic rabble of an opposition. All you can do is try and deny that there is a global financial crisis and say: ‘Look at the debt. Look at the problems we’re going to have. Look at this irresponsible spending.’

The Australian community know who are handling the economy well, and that is the Rudd Labor government. We are handling the economy in the interests of the community. We are handling this economy, the greatest challenge that any government has ever faced, decisively and well. We make no apology about protecting Australian jobs and communities from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. We make no apology for acting quickly, decisively and effectively, and we make no apology for underpinning 210,000 Australian jobs during the financial crisis.

The Liberal and National coalition need to act in the national interest once in a while and start thinking more widely than their party room disruptions and their weak leader. They need to start thinking about what is in the interests of this nation and this community. That is exactly what we have done, to state that neoliberalism has no role—that the community have to be looked after and the government must intervene to ensure that this economy is safeguarded against the financial crisis and has the basis for future growth built in now.

We have a plan and a strategy—something that Howard and Costello never had. You had tax cuts, handouts and money rolling in, but what was your legacy? Your legacy for the Australian community was Work Choices and the GST.