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

Thank you, Mr President. I suspect some of the comments were more entertaining than I am. It is true, I am not an entertainer. I thank the senator for his congratulations. I was about to fall off my chair, but I did appreciate the graciousness. In relation to the decision that was made by any individual caucus member, we have made that decision and some of us have chosen to make our reasons for that public, and I am one of them. I have nothing to add to that.

The approach that the Labor Party and the Labor government continue to make is simply this: as I said, we believe in an Australia where there is greater opportunity for all Australians. We believe in a fairer Australia. We believe in growing our economy and continuing to support jobs. We believe in improving our education systems and our apprenticeship systems. We believe in making sure that we steer the economy through some significant and important transitions which are occurring at the moment. These are the priorities of the Australian Labor Party and they will never change. The values will never change. Those opposite might want to get into a lot of politics about this issue. What the Labor Party is focused on and what the country is focused on are the plans for the future. The country is focused on the policies that the government are delivering, and that the alternative government seeks to put forward. That is what the country is focused on. We, as a government, are focused on implementing our plans today for a stronger, brighter future for Australia tomorrow.