Senator THISTLETHWAITE (New South Wales) (16:47): Senator Cormann says that the opposition are happy to debate economics and that he wants to bring on a debate about economics. He makes outrageous, unjustified accusations about Labor's management of public finances. Well, let us bring on a debate about the management of public finances. Let us bring on a debate in this country about economic management, because when we do the Australian people will see that it is Labor that has been honest about our nation's public finances and it is Labor that is managing our economy in the best interests of working Australians. But do not believe me. Let us look at what some of the experts in the field are saying. I would like to begin with a quote: There are two possible explanations for how an opposition presenting itself as an alternative government could end up with an $11 billion hole in the cost of its election commitments. One is that they are liars, the other is that they are clunkheads. Actually, there is a third explanation: they are liars and clunkheads. But whatever the combination, they are not fit to govern. They are not my words. They are not the words of a Labor member of parliament. They are not the words of a Labor member of the party, or indeed a union member in this country. They are the words of none other than the respected economic commentator for the Australian Financial Review, Laura Tingle, published in the Australian Financial Review on 3 September 2010. Of course, Ms Tingle was referring to the opposition's attempt at costing their election commitments leading into the 2010 election. What happened in the wake of that farce that was brought on by the then opposition? Justifiably, there was outrage in the Australian community and questions were asked by the commentariat of the opposition economics spokesman, Joe Hockey. When asked what his response was, and about the fact that the opposition would not submit their election costings for independent review and that when they did they came up $11 billion short—a massive black hole in their election costings—his response was that they had been audited. They had been audited by a team of accountants in Perth. Mr Hockey's quote was: You know what if the fifth biggest accounting firm in Australia signs off on our numbers it is a brave person to start saying they're accounting tricks. I tell you it is an audit, this is an audited statement. They were the words of the shadow Treasurer. They were followed up by the shadow finance spokesperson, Andrew Robb, when he said: … if they make a mistake with the auditing of accounts for companies or prospectuses or mislead they're … … … … … at risk of being punished and going to jail. Unfortunately, by teaming up with the Liberal opposition they almost did go to jail! In the wake of this team of accountants teaming up with the Liberal opposition and providing so-called audited accounts of their election costings they were fined. They were fined $5,000 by the Institute of Chartered Accountants. They appealed to the independent ICA appeal tribunal, and even the independent ICA appeal tribunal found that the original decision was justified. They said that the fines were imposed because their costings of coalition policies failed to contain: … a statement that the procedures performed do not constitute either an audit or a review … It is quite clear that this accounting firm knew that they were not performing an audit. Joe Hockey thought that they were performing an audit. The Australian people knew that they were not performing an audit, that their figures did not stand up to scrutiny, yet those opposite tried to mislead the Australian public into believing that their accounts and their figures were accurate and correct. What they have done is make a joke of public finances from their side of the chamber. What they have done is make a joke of what, until your side teamed up with them, was probably the well-respected good name of this accounting firm in Perth. They lie and they twist the truth when it comes to public policy. They have opposed every nation-building scheme and reform without developing or explaining their ideas and alternatives and, in doing so, they belittle and show disrespect for the intelligence of the Australian people. Yet they seek to come into this chamber today and criticise this government for getting on with the job of delivering good government in the interests of working Australians. Yet again, over the course of the last couple of weeks, we have seen the Liberal Party in action refusing to commit to their so-called promise to deliver a budget surplus. We saw Andrew Robb, their finance spokesperson, say this week, 'It depends on the numbers.' Just last week we saw the Leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott, addressing the National Press Club. He began to back them away from the commitment to deliver tax cuts to the people of Australia; he is now describing this as an aspiration rather than a policy. We have also seen him begin to back the coalition away from its support for a National Disability Insurance Scheme. And they come into this chamber and seek to criticise what is a good government doing a good job and getting on with governing in the interests of working Australians. What about when it comes to the economy? When the global financial crisis hit Australia we acted quickly and decisively, saving 200,000 workers' jobs in this country. Because there had been an underinvestment in education and social housing during the years of the Howard government, we invested in schools and social housing throughout this country. We have invested $16.2 billion, through the Building the Education Revolution, in a better education and a better future for our students, and I have been privileged to visit some of those facilities in my work as a senator during the course of the last six months. Faced with the dilemma of the mining boom and the two-speed economy, we found corporations taking resources that are owned by the people of Australia, making record profits from them and sending those profits overseas. We have acted to implement a minerals resource rent tax to ensure that all Australians are sharing in the benefits of the minerals boom. We are ensuring that we are providing for retirement incomes for Australian workers, ensuring that we are putting the conditions in place to support small business and ensuring that we are investing in rural and regional infrastructure. Faced with the prospect of the slowest internet speeds in the OECD, we have acted quickly and decisively to implement the National Broadband Network because we believe that, regardless of where you live, your background and your income, you should have access to world-class internet and broadband services in this country. That is why we are building the National Broadband Network. We face the prospect of skill shortages in our economy, particularly in those sectors that are performing well in the mining and resources sector. They are bottlenecks to productivity and growth in our economy. We have implemented a massive reform to vocational education and training service delivery in this country, making it easier for young people to begin and continue trades in Australia. This is leadership. This is not only getting on with the job of managing our economy in the interests of working Australians but also making our nation a fairer place to live. Those opposite plan to cut $70 billion worth of services from our economy. It will destroy growth, it will destroy our economy and, most importantly, it will make families worse off. Once again, in the words of Laura Tingle: … they are not fit to govern.