David Feeney (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

Having endured 20 minutes of lecturing on this subject, Senator, I would think that the courtesies would require you to perhaps endure a few more moments in courteous silence. We on this side reject both those propositions. We make no apologies at all for having acted swiftly to roll out our economic stimulus programs and our programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They were both vitally important and they were both necessary actions. On both these issues we were right, and the verdict of history has demonstrated that those opposite were wrong. It is true that there were deficiencies in the rolling out of some of these programs. We have accepted that, and we have taken responsibility both for those errors and for rectifying those deficiencies.

This government was determined to take effective action against the global financial crisis and determined to take effective action against climate change, and they both remain priorities for this government. Those opposite opposed us all the way on both these issues, and no doubt they will continue to do so. We have taken some political heat for the problems identified by this report, and we have to wear it. We take responsibility for our mistakes. But it is about time those opposite took responsibility for their much greater failings of policy and acted with some political maturity in these important political debates before this chamber.

Question agreed to.