Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

It is good to see that the member for Higgins has leapt back into action today. Three days of self-discipline were too much for the member for Higgins, but we come to day 4 and he is back up the front.

Then you have got the other thing which was pointed to, which was the underinvestment in skills. If you look at the overall need for productivity performance in the economy, you need to be investing in infrastructure and investing in skills, because the long-term economic mission of the government—and it should be of the nation—is to ensure that we are turbocharging long-term productivity growth. That is why, prior to the election, we committed ourselves to significant infrastructure investment. That is why, prior to the election, we committed ourselves to building an education revolution. These two enterprises come together with one objective: boosting long-term productivity growth.

The honourable member refers to the infrastructure funds which we have dedicated for this purpose. Can I again draw the attention of the nation to the double standards of the opposition. Each of these infrastructure funds was voted against, in this parliament, by those opposite. They have opposed nation building, they have opposed economic stimulus, they have opposed infrastructure investment, and they stand here at the dispatch box today and pretend that they are concerned about the above. This is a political strategy designed to take political advantage of a global economic crisis. This government is prosecuting an economic strategy in order to cushion the impact of that crisis on Australian families and on jobs.

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