Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

It is good to see that you enjoyed good Christmas cheer, Senator Brandis. You have come back with a good sense of humour. As I said earlier, through Mr John Fahey, the government will work to see every single dollar spent effectively in the regions that need them. Mr Fahey has the power to inspect and advise on contracts before they are signed, examine high-value or complex projects prior to execution, examine projects undertaken by local government and check spending and project milestones. The government is also keen to ensure that we can bring private sector experience to bear on project management, tendering and contractual frameworks. The government wants to get the rebuilding right.

We have seconded Major General Mick Slater to chair the Queensland government’s reconstruction authority and Mr Brad Orgill will be sitting on the authority’s board to make sure that value for money is front of mind. We will also require audited statements for Commonwealth contributions to the recovery to ensure that the money is properly spent.

Without the stimulus, we would have seen thousands of skilled workers exit the construction sector and be lumped into the unemployment line. In the US, for example, over one in four construction jobs were lost. We acted to make sure that that did not happen here. We will be making sure that we apply the lessons learnt in the stimulus to the rebuilding effort. The reconstruction effort will be careful and methodical. (Time expired)