Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

They provided to Australian businesses a clock so that they could count the minutes as the skills crisis counted down. They spent $68 million of taxpayers’ money. Last but not least—and we have heard a lot about luxury motor vehicles in this parliament in the last few days—we have, would you believe, the skills sun visor for your car so that you can protect the dashboard of the Maserati when you are out on a nice sunny day. That was the contribution of the Liberal Party of this country to the skills debate. There were young Australians wanting apprenticeships and businesses wanting skilled workers, and what did the Liberal Party of this country do? They spent $68 million, and those opposite were around the cabinet table when it was spent.

This tells the Australian community about your priorities. The Leader of the Opposition could have given working Australians $68 million, but instead he participated in a decision to spend it on propaganda. Add that to the $121 million spent on propaganda for Work Choices. The Leader of the Opposition, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, the Manager of Opposition of Business, the shadow Treasurer and the Leader of the National Party were all participants in wasting $121 million of taxpayers’ money on Work Choices propaganda and $68 million on this. Do not come into this parliament and feign an interest in the welfare of working families when you have been a participant in this level of waste.

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