Mark Arbib (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Government Service Delivery) Share this | Hansard source

As the good whip Senator O’Brien has said, will you increase the GST? They are simple questions; Australians deserve an honest answer. If you are going to continue to run a scare campaign then really you should be honest with the Australian people and explain how you are going to deal with the revenue shortfall.

I have to say that we do get some pointers in coalition policy going forward, and hopefully we will see this tonight, because I am finding it very interesting. We have seen senators in this chamber, and also the shadow Treasurer, talk about cutting the energy efficiency program—the insulation program—that is part of the economic stimulus, and we have also seen the shadow Treasurer talking about cutting the school halls, school libraries and classrooms that are part of the Nation Building and Jobs Plan. I find that absolutely astounding.

The energy efficiency program will insulate up to 2.7 million Australian homes. This is a program that is going to save average households $200 a year on power bills. It will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by almost 50 million tonnes; that is the equivalent of taking more than one million cars off the road. Who will be the people who benefit most from the insulation? Not just families who are saving money but tradespeople, insulation fitters. It is quite interesting. I was reading in the Daily Telegraph a week ago which will be the five occupations that will get through the recession in best shape. What was the No. 1 occupation to get through the recession? Insulation installers. Those are the jobs that those on the opposite side of the chamber would love to abolish.