Brendan O'Connor (Gorton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak to this motion. I do also acknowledge the fact that the member for Bass is moving the motion, for the very first time. Clearly he denied the opportunity for the members for Braddon and Lyons to speak on this, because he is aware that they have not given their first speech yet. It would have been, I think, more appropriate and more collegial if he had waited until next Monday to move this motion, because what he has done is to deny his own side's representatives in Tasmania the opportunity to speak on the Tasmanian economy. I would say to the members for Lyons and Braddon, 'Watch out for the member for Bass; obviously he is not what you would call a team player.'

I have heard a few things already in this chamber in relation to this matter, but let us just go through some of the things that have actually happened rather than the speculation that has been articulated by those opposite. Firstly, it was Labor that put forward a $100 million jobs and growth plan for Tasmania, not the Liberals. It was Labor that invested in the $17 million North West and Northern Tasmania Innovation and Investment Fund. That fund leveraged millions of dollars, and not only sustained businesses across the state, particularly in the north and north-west, but allowed them to ensure that they could provide support for businesses in that area. It was Labor that actually—

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