no doubt, plenty of whinging and whining about to be...

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.