Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I hear the interjection, ‘Since you came into government’—once again, completely ignoring that there is a global recession going on. According to the opposition, there is nothing else happening around the world when it comes to the financial circumstances of other countries; it is only happening in Australia. And, if you believe Mr Springborg, it is not happening in Queensland: there is no recession; it is just a beat-up.

As a consequence of the government’s economic stimulus in October last year, we have seen retail sales go up. What does that mean? It means jobs. It means that people in the retail sector have been able to hold onto employees who otherwise would have been made redundant because of loss of sales. Again today in the Courier-Mail we saw reports that retail sales in Queensland have risen and are much higher than they were this time last year. A shopping centre just down the road from me at Stafford is reported in the paper today, saying that sales in Big W’s kids wear have gone up 50 per cent. Those opposite say that people have wasted their stimulus money. I am sorry but, if parents are spending extra money buying their kids new clothes at Big W, I am for it. I think that is a great way to stimulate the economy—to go out and buy clothes for your children. This is what the government is about. Our Nation Building and Jobs Plan is about supporting jobs.

Yes, I support the infrastructure work in schools. I make no apology for supporting schools in getting multipurpose halls, state-of-the-art libraries and permanent school blocks. I have been working with my schools extensively to provide that support, and I will support any school which is seeking to access the government’s BER funding and which complies with the guidelines.

It is my pleasure to support this bill. It is another initiative, amongst a range of initiatives, that the government has put in place not only to support jobs—through its economic stimulus strategy—but also to support those people who find themselves unemployed, being made redundant. This government is stepping up. That is what a strong government does. It delivers not only in the good times but also when times get tough—and this is such a time. The global recession is putting pressure on businesses and it is putting pressure on jobs across this country. This government is stepping up to the job. The opposition’s alternative policy is to wait and see. In Queensland, it is a case of saying, ‘Let’s cut jobs; let’s cut infrastructure projects.’ In the Senate it is a case of saying, ‘Let’s make sure that we can sack people easily.’ I will support the Rudd Labor government’s policies any day over those sorts of initiatives.

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