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

Economic stimulus is being delivered urgently to support jobs now—something, of course, which is not an economic goal of the Liberal Party as stated by the shadow Treasurer—and also to provide the biggest school modernisation program in the nation’s history. It is true that, in order to deliver urgent economic stimulus to support tradespeople and their jobs today, we did ask state governments and local and Catholic education authorities to expedite the delivery of this program. I say to the shadow minister opposite: I really think we are getting to a fairly interesting stage in this debate if it is being suggested that it is a federal government responsibility to deal with a planning dispute about the removal of trees. I think the fact that the Liberal Party has come into this parliament to raise that point says everything about the absolute absurdity of its attitude to a global recession.

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