Helen Kroger (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy President, and may I join Senator Sterle in welcoming you back. In rising to take note of answers you have to hand it to those on the other side of this chamber who really abuse this chamber to try to rewrite history. I would like to remind Senator Sterle of the facts in relation to the stimulus packages of his government and remind him that we actually did support the first stimulus package. Our concern in supporting the second stimulus package was the fact that it was four times the size and introduced before we saw the effect of that first stimulus package and how it would filter through the system. But it does not ever stop Senator Sterle and those on the other side who want to rewrite history according to their own whims and fancies.

Minister Wong stood up and talked about the lack of fiscal responsibility of those on this side of the chamber. I would put to Minister Wong that it is what you do in government that counts. I will be very happy to stand up any day and hold up our record under the Howard-Costello government and demonstrate what fiscal responsibility is all about—unlike what we have seen on your side: this scandalous, extraordinary, flagrant waste of hard earned taxpayers’ money. You on that side have no idea what fiscal responsibility actually means. It is a definition that we are very happy to provide to you. Australians look to their governments for effective and strong management. Your answer to that, as Senator Adams has already raised, is to roll out programs like the BER, which has wasted billions of dollars. There were programs like the insulation pink batts scheme under Garrett. He was sidelined; he was not doing too well. But we still have not fixed it.