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

In my best Australian accent, my question is to the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Government Service Delivery in relation to the nation-building economic stimulus plan, Senator Arbib. Can the minister please outline to the Senate how the Rudd government’s economic stimulus plan continues to cushion the economy from the blow of the global recession? Can the minister explain to the Senate how the government’s early and decisive action to stimulate our economy has supported Australian jobs and small businesses during these uncertain times? Is the minister aware of the views of Australian businesses on the economic stimulus plan’s impact on their businesses and jobs?

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cameron, I will have to ask you to repeat the last part of that question. I know that will excite some people. But I could not hear it because of interjections on my left.

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

Can the minister please explain to the Senate how the government’s early and decisive action to stimulate our economy has supported Australian jobs and small businesses during these uncertain economic times? Is the minister aware of the views of Australian businesses on the economic stimulus plan’s impact on their businesses and jobs?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Cameron. Senator Cameron, on behalf of all Labor senators, we love your accent and we love you because you spend your life committed to working families and workers.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Arbib, just address the question.

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

That is exactly what the stimulus package is about. When Lehman Brothers collapsed—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Arbib, resume your seat. I cannot hear a word. Order! On both sides I need order so I can hear Senator Arbib. Senator Arbib, continue.

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, when Lehman Brothers collapsed the government acted swiftly and decisively. That is correct. We did it for one reason: to protect jobs. The Australian government working together with business, working together with the trade union movement, has pulled together and the results are there. The facts are clear. We are only one of a handful of countries that have actually avoided recession. We are the only advanced economy to have recorded positive growth over the past year, and we had the second lowest unemployment of all major advanced economies.

As we have said and as the Treasurer has said, we are not out of the woods yet. The international economy remains fragile. As for domestic figures, ABS figures released yesterday show that housing starts have fallen by 3.7 per cent in the June quarter. That is the fourth straight quarter fall. On top of that, retail sales declined by one per cent over the month to July 2009. It is for those very reasons that we must continue with the stimulus plan and continue with the stimulus strategy. The government is now moving the stimulus into the next phase. We are now moving into the infrastructure phase. Seventy per cent of the stimulus is infrastructure; 35,000 projects are being rolled out over the country over the next 14 months. What does this mean? This means jobs. (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, can you advise the Senate how small businesses and tradespeople are benefiting from the demand generated as part of the infrastructure stimulus package? In particular, could the minister outline—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Senator Cameron, resume your seat again. Interjections are disorderly, and they take up valuable time in question time. Senator Cameron, continue.

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

Thank you. Now listen carefully. Can the minister advise the Senate how small businesses and tradespeople are benefiting from the demand generated as part of the infrastructure stimulus package? In particular, could the minister outline the flow-on effect from the jobs supported by the infrastructure stimulus package? Is the minister aware of any particular examples of how the package is cushioning the blow of the global recession on local tradespeople, small businesses and apprentices? And thanks for the nice comments about my accent.

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Cameron. I was saying that the stimulus package is supporting jobs and tradespeople. It is also supporting small business. And in response to Senator Cameron I can confirm that there are thousands of small businesspeople who are benefiting. They are tradespeople such as Jim Zuma in Cabramatta. In his own words, Jim said that before the stimulus he was spending his days ‘working around the house’. Now he is putting up plasterboard in the very classroom where he learned to read, at the Sacred Heart Primary School at Cabramatta.

Bill Heffernan (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Heffernan interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Resume your seat, Senator Arbib. Senator Heffernan, it is disorderly to shout across the chamber. I am trying to listen to the answer. Senator Arbib, continue.

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. As a result, his small business has taken on three other workers and will hire another two in coming months. One of the best things about the stimulus package is the flow-on effect, the multiplier effect. Jim and his co-workers buy their lunch every day at the milk bar and pick up groceries at Woolworths, the newspaper from the local newsagent, breakfast muffins from McDonald’s and coffee from Gloria Jean’s up the road, and that means supporting those jobs in small business too. (Time expired)

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

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Is the minister aware of suggestions that the Rudd government’s economic stimulus strategy is no longer necessary and should be rolled back? In particular, is the minister aware of any alternative plans or priorities regarding stimulus strategies? Can the minister outline the impact that these plans would have on the economy and on employment in particular?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Rolling back the stimulus now would be disastrous for jobs and disastrous for small business. It would mean small businesspeople like Jim Zuma would be out of a job. I do note that today is the one-year anniversary of the member for Wentworth taking over the leadership of his party, and it has been one year with no jobs plan—one year with no jobs plan! It is not a surprise, because while they have talked a lot about jobs in the past their true intentions on jobs are now coming to the surface. In April the shadow treasurer said:

Every single sinew of the Government’s body must be focused on creating jobs, building jobs.

Just last week, what did he say?

Mr Hockey: How much money needs to be spent to keep people in work?

The journalist: You are saying that it is more important to keep interest rates low than spend money to keep people in work?

Mr Hockey: Yes, yes, that is what we are saying. (Time expired)

Gary Humphries (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery, Senator Arbib. It is also about the stimulus package. Is the minister satisfied that the pink batts program is being run efficiently and effectively, free from waste and mismanagement?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

From day one, when the stimulus package was put in place, Liberal and National Party senators have opposed it. They voted against it. But the one area they have shown absolute contempt for has been the insulation package. We have heard the words time and time again from Senator Joyce concerning insulation, running down an industry that now is supporting 6,000 businesses—the majority of which are small businesses—and running down local manufacturers. I have spent time with local manufacturers—with the Bradford company, which has gone to 24/7 production, and with Fletcher’s organisation, which has gone to 24/7 manufacturing in their Dandenong plant and in their Western Sydney plant. This means jobs.

Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities, Carers and the Voluntary Sector) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Fifield interjecting—

Cory Bernardi (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Bernardi interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order, Senator Fifield and Senator Bernardi! Senator Fifield, it is disorderly to shout across the chamber, as it is for Senator Bernardi.

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. This means jobs. It also has the multiplier effect in supporting logistics. It has a flow-on effect to the transport sector. It is supporting jobs there. For building services, it is supporting jobs there. These are jobs that obviously Liberal Party senators could not give a damn about. As I said, over 6,000 firms have been registered with the Department of Environment and Heritage to install insulation. That is a huge number—over 6,000. We have installed batts in over 270,000 homes. There is a detailed auditing program in place to ensure that the work is done in accordance with the guidelines. (Time expired)

Gary Humphries (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for his answer. It was not what I asked for but I thank him anyway. Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister advise the Senate what percentage of claims has come in under this program under the $1,600 cap?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am happy to seek that information for the good senator. Just to finish my previous answer, can I say that Minister Garrett has in place a proper auditing process. Also, in relation to auditing, the minister has written to every homeowner to ask them for feedback on how the program has proceeded and any issues they have. So this government is undertaking all processes to ensure that the program is rolled out as efficiently and effectively as possible. Again, I remind the Senate that this is about jobs. This is about supporting tradespeople—tradespeople who would otherwise be out of work. The Liberal Party have shown that they have no jobs plan, nor do they care about jobs. As the shadow Treasurer said, ‘Really, it is not our priority anymore.’ That is the Liberal Party— (Time expired)

Gary Humphries (ACT, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Are the proper auditing processes the minister refers to picking up the fact that some operators are ripping off consumers and the taxpayer by deliberately inflating insulation prices to maximise the government rebate? Isn’t this further evidence that the government is wastefully and recklessly spending taxpayers’ money?

Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I have said, the minister has written to homeowners. There is also a process in place for complaints and, if a complaint against an installer is proved correct, that installer risks being taken out of the program. That means that they will no longer be able to install insulation and receive a government rebate. That is the greatest sanction that this government has against so-called rorting and the greatest sanction that we have against commercial practices that we do not want to see. They will be booted out of the program. That is what the minister is undertaking and that is what the government is undertaking. I note that the good senator did not mention the effects of the program on employment in his three questions because, in the end, they could not care less about the jobs that this program is creating. They could not care less about the small businesses that this program is supporting. (Time expired)