Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

Making the right economic choices for today and for the future is the core business of government and that is what this government is focused on. First, when it comes to the global financial crisis, we made the choice to support jobs, to support small businesses and to ensure the economy kept growing. As a result of that, we know that 200,000 Australians who would have been on the unemployment queues remained employed. We are also looking to the future when it comes to our skills package, ensuring that more Australians have the opportunity to get the skills they need, not just for jobs today but for jobs for the future.

Of course, today, as my colleague Senator Conroy has also spoken of, we are proceeding with the investment in the National Broadband Network, an investment that is about the economy of the future. Unlike those opposite, who seem to want to spend money to renationalise a copper network—something that is uncosted; I am not sure if Mr Turnbull's proposition actually went to the ERC, which now has Senator Sinodinos on it—we understand that you need a 21st century technology to be a first-rate economy. That is what we are going to be delivering with the National Broadband Network.

As a result of the decisions the government has made to date, we have seen over 760,000 jobs being created since November 2007. We understand on this side the dignity of work and the importance of pay and good working conditions that go with jobs. We understand what this means for working families right around this country. We understand the importance of supporting jobs, not only through the global financial crisis but also as our economy changes as the global economy changes. Unlike those opposite, we look to the future. Unfortunately, what we have in those opposite is a party led by a man whose only answer is no. You cannot build the future by saying no.