Mr NEUMANN (Blair) (16:26): Speaking of ideas, I recently read a biography of Michael Foot, who was the opposition leader and Deputy Prime Minister of Great Britain. He said, 'When making a speech, always surprise.' I was waiting for a surprise from those opposite—an idea, a policy or a purpose. I was waiting for some economic credibility, but all we got was economic negativity. I was waiting for the shadow Treasurer to speak and I was waiting for the shadow finance minister to speak. If they had any economic credibility they would be here, but they are off having an argument amongst themselves over the economic circus that we saw in the last 48 hours. When it comes to supporting Australian families, I think the record of those opposite is quite blank. The Leader of the Opposition talked about the golden age of Howardism, but one of the things he did not talk about is Work Choices. We saw a bit of that today with the member for Mayo. I think he has got a new philosophy. We will call it Briggsism. Pensions, family tax benefits and assistance to families are all the dead hand of government. I am waiting for those opposite to endorse Briggsism. We could have Hockeyism, where the member for North Sydney says he agrees with the last person he spoke to. If he says it loud enough, people might believe him. Or we could have Robbism from the member for Goldstein. He waxes lyrical and thinks aloud but he gets himself in trouble. We have got Robbism, Hockeyism and Briggsism amongst those opposite, but there is no economic credibility at all because those opposite have not got any ideas. We heard about roads from the potential Deputy Prime Minister, were he to sit over here. Roads! It is a bit rich. The Warrego Highway, the Ipswich Motorway and the Blacksoil interchange: those opposite voted against all of these road funding projects that are so important for South-East Queensland. They opposed the Redcliffe railway. For over 100 years we have been wanting a railway in South-East Queensland to Redcliffe, but those opposite opposed it. The member for Wright is over there. He knows how important the Warrego Highway is for his area, but he, like all those opposite, opposed the road funding in South-East Queensland. So we have economic credibility writ large on this side and completely absent on that side. All we hear is negativity and nay-saying. That is what they are on about. When it comes to what we have done, we have created more than 700,000 jobs. We have got rid of Work Choices so that people have fairness in the workplace. This is so important because those opposite occasionally slip it out when they use the word 'flexibility'. I want the families of Australia to know that flexibility means driving down wages. That is what it means. It means taking away people's pay and conditions. It means penalty rates, long service leave and other things going. Why do we say that? Because it was Labor that built the living wage. It was Labor that built the pension system and the aged care system in this country. It was Labor that built the universal healthcare system in this country. It was Labor that built Medicare—twice, as the minister said—and Labor brought in compulsory superannuation. Those opposite talked with jeremiads about this—alarmist rhetoric—when they were there. They said that this would bring about the ruination of Australian business and the ruination of Australian companies. We did it because we wanted to support Australian families. We did it during this government. We did things like the Paid Parental Leave Scheme. We brought it in. Those opposite never did. The Leader of the Opposition, famously or infamously, said he would never do it; it would be over his dead body. We brought in an education tax refund. Also, we increased the childcare rebate. We know how important this measure is for electorates. For example, in my electorate of Blair, in South-East Queensland, 7,250 families benefited from childcare payments totalling over $27.9 million in the year 2009-10. The architect of Briggsism, the member for Mayo, in his electorate had 4,800 families benefitting from the childcare payments, totalling almost $12 million in that same year. This is the bloke that describes this as 'a cycle of dependency' and 'the dead hand of government'. We are about supporting families. We are about supporting individuals. We want to keep the country strong. And we want to make sure, as we did during the global financial crisis, that we support jobs. The Leader of the Opposition was literally asleep at the wheel when we were bringing in the economic stimulus package that saved 200,000 jobs. Last year, when we wanted to spread the wealth of the mining boom to benefit Australian families, he was sitting there dosing with the member for Leichhardt, who nudged him just in time to say no and to vote no. On bill after bill after bill after bill, he voted no. When it came to extending superannuation to help families and to make sure that a 30-year-old gets more than $100,000 more in compulsory superannuation when they retire, he said no. On regional infrastructure funding of $2 billion in my electorate in South-East Queensland as well as across Queensland, those opposite, including all those LNP members, should hang their heads in shame because they voted against it and also other projects. Why should we be surprised? They have opposed infrastructure spending in my home state, election after election after election—including the Ipswich Motorway, the most important infrastructure project in South-East Queensland. For three elections in a row they have opposed the funding for it. We know that all the mayors and their councils in South-East Queensland support it, as they do all the infrastructure. They have been down here many, many times. Even Campbell Newman supported the Ipswich Motorway upgrade while those opposite opposed it for three elections in a row. I look forward to seeing what their attitude will be towards it at the next election. There is also the Blacksoil interchange. The member for Wright sits opposite. He knows how important it is, because Steve Jones, the mayor of the Lockyer Valley, which is in his electorate, has told me how important that project is. We know how important that project is for the Lockyer Valley and the Brisbane Valley—the Somerset region. But those opposite opposed it. In South-East Queensland, 40,000 vehicles a day go through that intersection. Mums and dads are driving their kids to schools like WestMAC, to the grammar schools in Ipswich and up to Lowood high school and primary school. At Fernvale is the fastest growing primary school in my electorate. We know how important this intersection is for mums and dads. They and their families use that intersection at the Ipswich Motorway and the Warrego Highway each and every day to drive to work and to school as well as for reasons of recreation or business. The farmers need it as well. Families are crucial. We know how important families are in the life of this country. Children are a blessing and a heritage but they also cost money. We know that and that is why we brought in the education tax refund. That is why we increased the childcare rebate from 30 per cent to 50 per cent. We know how important it is to help families. That is why personal income taxes are lower under this government. That is why there is an historic increase in pensions. We increased pensions during the global financial crisis to make sure that people had the money they needed. We know that about 1.5 million Australians work in the retail sector. We wanted to make sure that their jobs were supported. That is why we gave out the stimulus money. We also know that about 250,000 people work in construction across this country. That is why we did projects like the BER. And those opposite—and I have seen some of them—actually turn up to BER ceremonies, saying how great they are, because this is where school kids go for their education. Those opposite opposed the BER funding that was so important across length and breadth of this country. And not only that, but, during the flood crisis in Queensland, the BER halls acted as evacuation centres. Some of them were used before they were officially opened. We know how important they were. We know how important families are, and we have supported families. We have supported families historically. It has been Labor governments which have supported families. This Labor government supports families and it will continue to do so. I come back to what Michael Foot said: those opposite never surprise us because they are always on the side of the privileged rather than the many. They are always on the side of the few. There is no utilitarianism at all about them. They really will not help working families or the working class, because they always believe in their divine right to rule. You only have to listen to the speeches of those opposite—the hard right-wing Thatcherism of those opposite. Michael Foot knew all about it, because he opposed it for years. If they come to this side of the chamber, we know that they will do it. We know that Work Choices will be back and that will impose pressure on working families. We support working families. We know how important they are for this country. We want to keep this economy strong, and we have done so. We have low inflation, low unemployment and our economy is the envy of the world. When the Leader of the Opposition goes overseas he talks us up. When he comes back here he talks us down. He cannot tell the truth when it comes to the economic credibility of this country, because the Leader of the Opposition has no ideas, no notions, no policies, only aspirations—no commitment, only aspirations. We are going to deliver the NDIS. Those opposite have no aspiration. They should hang their heads in shame because they have no credibility with working families. (Time expired)