Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, what absolute audacity from an opposition senator to raise the prospect of 'if we get on with it now'. What happened during the six years of the previous Australian Labor Party government? Absolutely nothing; they never got on with anything, other than raising the debt! So for Senator Dastyari to seek to come into this place and assert that we as a government should 'get on with it'—the simple fact is, as Senator Johnston said in an earlier question time, we were left with a blank sheet of paper in relation to this project. We had to start from scratch. And in starting from scratch in the past 12 months, we have sought to do everything we possibly can to ensure that our nation's defences are protected and that we get best value for money. What an audacity to say 'get on with it'. We actually are— (Time expired)