Page 730 - Week 02 - Thursday, 12 February 2009
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Perhaps the Liberal Party will explain to us today: are they opposed to the entirety of those family payments for eligible working Australians and for Australian families? Or is it that they just oppose the $950 for single-income families? Or is that they oppose the $950 for the back-to-school bonus for eligible school-age children? Do they oppose the package in its entirety? Or do they just oppose that part of the package that is designed to assist single-income families? Or do they oppose just that part of the package that is designed to assist families with eligible school-age children? Or do they simply oppose the package in its entirety?
They need to explain these things to us, just as they need to explain: do they actually oppose the capital payments to all schools? Or do they just oppose the payment to the government primary school sector? Or do they oppose payments to the Catholic systemic schools? Which part of their opposition to this package is related to government schools as opposed to Catholic schools? Or do they support the Catholic school payments, but not the government school payments? Or do they just believe that the ACT does not need an additional $230 million investment in its primary school system? On the basis of their record in relation to these things, we are entitled to believe that they would be happy not to see any additional investment in schools. But on what basis do they object to an additional $230 million coming directly to schools in the ACT. Why? Why do they not want this additional $230 million for schools?
Why is it that they do not support the additional $350 million of capital payments to the ACT? I think we are entitled to ask the question. In relation to the $350 million, do they oppose just that part to schools or do they oppose the additional $102 million for public housing? Or do they support the payments for public housing but oppose the schools? Or do they just oppose the entire package? We need to understand today. Is it a broad, generic opposition to the entire $42 million package or are there parts of it that they do support and parts that they do oppose? We need to understand these things so that we better understand this opposition that the Liberal Party has to the stimulus package.
As I have mentioned previously, there has been broad support for the stimulus package across the community and the business sector, in fact, almost universal support. In fact, the only identifiable group within the community that has not supported the package is the Liberal Party. We can remind ourselves of some of the reactions. Greg Evans, chief economist at the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, says:
We think it goes a long way towards alleviating the worst aspects of the economic downturn and actually puts us in a better position than most, if not all, advanced economies.
The Business Council of Australia’s Katie Lahey says:
The $42 million package should be strongly supported.
She goes further, saying:
The Australian government has acted quickly and responsibly to limit the impact of the global recession on Australia…In the face of a rapidly deteriorating global downturn the Australian Government stands ready to act.
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