Senator COLBECK (Tasmania—Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture) (15:06): If the Labor Party is so concerned about the construction of submarines in South Australia, and they really want to know who ought to be looked at closely as to the situation we currently find ourselves in, then the first thing they should do is look in the mirror. There they would see a facsimile of Nero, fiddling while Rome burnt. The reality is that the decision around the construction of submarines for the Australian Navy should have been made two years ago. But what did the Australian Labor Party do about the construction of submarines? They took $20 million out of the budget. Senator Conroy: You have been in power for nearly 18 months. Senator COLBECK: Yes, Senator Conroy, and we are continuing to clean up the mess that you left behind—we are continuing to clean up the mess that the Labor Party left behind on the economy, we are continuing to clean up the mess that the Labor Party left behind in respect of employment and we are continuing to clean up the mess that the Labor Party left behind with respect to the Defence Force. Ten per cent of Australian defence industry jobs disappeared on the Labor Party's watch. They are now crying crocodile tears. Senator Conroy: You're in charge. Senator COLBECK: Yes, we are now in charge, Senator Conroy, and I am happy to take your— Senator Conroy: Well, do something! Senator Lines: Not in Victoria! Senator COLBECK: Somebody ought to put the lid back on the chip packet—please, so I can say what I would like to say. They might have a chance to say what they would like to say later. The Labor Party clearly dropped the ball. We have heard numerous times in this chamber that when we came to government there was nothing in the plan for submarines, and we have had to start to build that plan. That is what we are working on. We had a plan, which the Labor Party failed to do two years ago. As I said earlier, this decision should have been made two years ago, a year before we came to government. So we find ourselves in the situation of having to clean up another mess that the Labor Party left. Defence employment fell by 10 per cent because of budget cuts and deferrals. That is what we are doing. What is the Labor Party's legacy in respect of submarines? They took $20 billion out of the budget for the future submarine program. Where was the South Australian Labor government during that period of time? In fact, where were the South Australian Labor members during that period of time? We did not hear a word from them at that point in time. Because of the complete failure of the Labor Party to act we have been left with having to pick up after them and having to develop a plan. We have to build a program and then we have to implement it. Senator Conroy: You are going to give it to Japan. Senator COLBECK: Senator Conroy continues to make allegations, continues to make things up, without any real evidence. We saw even the leader of the Labor Party this afternoon in question time asking questions about rumours. The basis of the Labor Party's questions in question time now is rumours. That is how shallow the Labor Party are. They completely failed in government. They completely failed manufacturing in government. There were 140,000 jobs lost when the Labor Party were in government. Some 140,000 manufacturing jobs disappeared under the Labor Party and yet, when we are trying to turn the economy around, when we are trying to turn around the mess that was left, they even voted against measures that they proposed themselves. They even voted against saving measures for the budget that they proposed themselves. Senator Lines: You can't even turn a canoe around. Senator COLBECK: Senator Lines, you did not even leave a canoe. You did not even leave that much as far as a plan was concerned for the Australian submarine project. (Time expired)