Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would appreciate if you could protect me from these vicious interjections by Senator Moore trying to shout me down in exposing the truth that the White Australia policy was Labor's. In fact, it was Mr Menzies who got rid of that vile policy. The way the Labor Party are going on in this xenophobic way with the China free trade agreement, you would think that some in the party want to return to the 'good old' White Australia policy days. You would almost think that, for some reason, they are anti-Asian or anti-Chinese. There is no fact in their argument. Clearly, the China free trade agreement will create jobs for Australians and wealth for Australians.

All through the coalition government, the approach is to good financial management that does not leave Australia like Greece. Australia has to pay off the debts that it runs up, but the Labor Party have no plan for that. We will do that. At the same time, we will continue to create new jobs, like the 17,000 jobs alone that were created just in August of this year. We will continue to encourage exports, encourage productivity in Australia and get Australia moving. One of the ways that we will do that, of course, is to bring a crooked union movement to account, and the royal commission is doing that. The Abbott and Turnbull governments have everything to be proud of in their economic management, unlike the Labor Party.