no doubt, plenty of whinging and whining about to be unleashed
What has the Labor government done for Australia? Let me count the ways… Courtesy of Kaye Lee
· NBN (the real one) – total cost $37.4b (Government contribution: $30.4b)
· BER 7,920 schools: 10,475 projects. (completed at less than 3% dissatisfaction rate)
· Gonski – Education funding reform
· NDIS/DisabilityCare
· MRRT & aligned PRRT
· Won seat at the UN
· Signed Kyoto
· Signatory to Bali Process & Regional Framework
· Eradicated WorkChoices
· Established Fair Work Australia
· Established Carbon Pricing/ETS (7% reduction in emissions since July last year)
· Established National Network of Reserves and Parks
· Created world’s largest Marine Park Network
· Introduced Reef Rescue Program
· National Apology
· Sorry to the Stolen Generation
· Increased Superannuation from 9 to 12%
· Changed 85 laws to remove discrimination against same sex couples
· Introduced National Plan to reduce violence against women and children
· Improvements to Sex Discrimination Act
· Introduced Plain packaging of cigarettes
· Legislated Equal pay (social & community workers up to 45% pay increases)
· Legislated Australia’s first Paid Parental Leave scheme
· Established $10b Renewable energy fund
· Legislated Murray/Darling Basin plan (the first in a hundred years of trying.)
· Increased Education funding by 50%
· Established direct electoral enrollment
· Created 190,000 more University places
· Achieved 1:1 ratio, computers for year 9-12 students
· Established My School
· Established National Curriculum
· Established NAPLAN
· Increased Health funding by 50%
· Legislated Aged care package
· Legislated Mental health package
· Legislated Dental Care package
· Created 90 Headspace sites
· Created Medicare Locals Program
· Created Aussie Jobs package
· Created Kick-Start Initiative (apprentices)
· Funded New Car plan (industry support)
· Created Infrastructure Australia
· Established Nation Building Program (350 major projects)
· Doubled Federal Roads budget ($36b) (7,000kms of roads)
· Rebuilding 1/3 of interstate rail freight network
· Committed more to urban passenger rail than any government since Federation
· Developed National Ports Strategy
· Developed National Land Freight Strategy
· Created the nations first ever Aviation White Paper
· Revitalized Australian Shipping
· Reduced transport regulators from 23 to 3 (saving $30b over 20years)
· Introduced NICS – infrastructure schedule
· Australia has moved from 20th in 2007 to 2nd on OECD infrastructure ranking
· Awarded International Infrastructure Minister of the Year (2012 Albanese)
· Awarded International Treasurer of the Year (2011 Swan)
· Introduced Anti-dumping and countervailing system reforms
· Legislated Household Assistance Package
· Introduced School Kids Bonus
· Increased Childcare rebate (to 50%)
· Allocated $6b to Social Housing (20,000 homes)
· Provided $5b to Support for Homelessness
· Established National Rental Affordability Scheme ($4.5b)
· Introduced Closing the Gap
· Supports Act of Recognition for constitutional change
· Provided the highest pension increase in 100 years
· Created 900,000 new jobs
· Established National Jobs Board
· Allocated $9b for skills and training over 5 years
· Established Enterprise Connect (small business)
· Appointed Australia’s first Small Business Commissioner
· Introduced immediate write-off of assets costing less than $6,500 for Sm/Bus
· Introduced $5,000 immediate write-off for Small Business vehicles over $6,500
· Introduced Small business $1m loss carryback for tax rebate from previous year
· Legislated Australian Consumer law
· Introduced a national levy to assist Queensland with reconstruction
· Standardized national definition of flood for Insurance purposes.
· Created Tourism 2020
· Completed Australia’s first feasibility study on high speed rail
· Established ESCAS (traceability and accountability in live animal exports)
· Established Royal Commission into Institutional Sexual Abuse
· Established National Crime Prevention Fund
· Lowered personal income taxes (Ave family now pays $3,500 less p.a. than 2007)
· Raised the tax-free threshold from $6,000 to $18,200
· Australia now the richest per capita nation on earth
· First time ever Australia has three triple A credit ratings from all three credit agencies
· Low inflation
· Lowest interest rates in 60 years (Ave mortgagee paying $5,000 less p.a. than 2007)
· Low unemployment
· Lowest debt to GDP in OECD
· Australian dollar is now fifth most traded in the world and IMF Reserve Currency
· One of the world’s best performing economies during and since the GFC
· Australia now highest ranked for low Sovereign Risk
· Overseen the largest fiscal tightening in nations history (4.4%)
· 21 years of continuous economic growth (trend running at around 3%pa)
· 11 years of continuous wages growth exceeding CPI
· Increasing Productivity
· Increasing Consumer Confidence
· Record foreign investment
· Historic levels of Chinese/Australian bilateral relations
· First female Prime Minister
· First female Governor General
· First female Attorney General
A fiscal strategy to return to budget surpluses over the economic cycle without damaging its economy with austerity measures already proven to fail. A future linked to the National Broadband Network, renewable energy and greater productivity through higher education and infrastructure investment. Improved social equality and has a larger voice on the world stage.
All this (and more) despite a hung parliament, a recalcitrant press and the most negative and asinine Opposition since Federation.
In my view this has been one of the finest parliamentary periods in our history.
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