Mark Furner (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Time does not allow me to go through all the national interest measures we have been able to deliver as a Labor federal government, but I will do as much as I can in the time permitted.

It was only in September last year that we secured a minority government. Since then there is no doubt we have been delivering on our policies. We have been delivering on tax cuts for working families at a time when they need tax cuts and benefits the most. In fact, on 1 January 2011, as a member of the community affairs committee, I was delighted to be part of a government that delivered on paid parental leave, a scheme where parents are able to stay home with their newborns or adopted children for 18 weeks at the minimum wage, while retaining their ties with the workplace and easing the financial pressure on our working families—a policy the opposition leader said he would never implement, until he realised that our government was in a box-seat position to do it. And what did he do with his policy? He was going to put the burden back onto employers; he was going to have major employers pay for his policy, a flaw in his policy that no doubt those major employers are still opposed to.

We began also to roll out the National Broadband Network, which will provide faster internet connections and allow those in rural areas to access high-speed internet through the state-of-the-art NBN connection—something the opposition has left our country behind on. The NBN will deliver affordable high-speed broadband to all Australians, no matter where they live. The NBN is also creating jobs, right here.

Senator Bilyk interjecting—

It is already being used in Tasmania, in Senator Bilyk's electorate—

Senator Bushby interjecting—

and in Senator Bushby's electorate as well, and also in Armidale, in New South Wales. A new era of telecommunications is arriving—better services, more competitive prices for Australians and for Australian businesses. The NBN will change the way we live and work and ensure our economy keeps up with the rest of the world. It will give our children access to world-class educational resources. It will provide access to better health care. It will close the distance between our regions and cities and will give local businesses the opportunity to expand into markets anywhere in the world, instantly. And the Prime Minister and Minister Conroy have announced a $9 billion agreement with Telstra on the NBN to provide for the re-use of suitable Telstra infrastructure and for Telstra to progressively structurally separate by decommissioning its copper network and broadband HFC network capabilities during the NBN fibre rollout. This means less disruption to communities and less use of overhead cables. We have also succeeded in separating Telstra in their retail and wholesale communications business.

After injecting money into the economy, we stopped Australia from feeling the brunt of the global financial crisis, something that we shall never, ever forget, and nor will the public—the way we have delivered confidence in the market, something those opposite used to champion. We have stolen that mantle from you now.