Senator URQUHART (Tasmania) (16:33): I rise to speak on today's matter of public importance submitted by the opposition on the record of the Gillard Labor government. I am particularly proud of this record and particularly proud of Labor's plan for Australia's future. We have just heard a lengthy diatribe from those opposite, seeking to talk down this record as though working to secure the jobs of hardworking Australian families through the greatest economic challenge since the Great Depression is a bad thing. This government has stayed focused on securing the jobs of working Australians throughout our term, and what better marker of ongoing success than the creation of more than 800,000 jobs during the worst of economic times around the globe. When nations around the world were putting their hands in the air, this Labor government got on with the job of governing, of assisting the community to build vital roads and classrooms and assisting business to create jobs. Everyone in this place knows the fantastic job done throughout the global financial crisis by the Labor government. Labor's fast, targeted action to stimulate the economy has seen our economy now 10 per cent larger than before the GFC, while many other advanced economies are still smaller than they were before the global crisis. I would like to list five economic statistics that show that as things stand Australia's economy is tracking along quite nicely. They are: (1) annual GDP growth is 3.1 per cent, around the long-term target of three per cent; (2) the annual inflation rate is 2.2 per cent, nicely within the Reserve Bank's target range; (3) the unemployment rate is 5.4 per cent and, while never low enough, it is well below the average of the Howard government; (4) the annual wage-price index is at 3.7 per cent, just 1.5 per cent higher than the inflation rate, giving working Australians more opportunities each year, and; (5) the standard variable mortgage rate is 6.45 per cent, which is making home ownership affordable for many Australians. These five statistics highlight that the Australian economy is tracking very well. And just for the fun of it, I would like to add a sixth, a sixth that definitely would not be possible without the interventionist approach the Labor government took in 2008 and 2009 to stimulate the Australian economy. The sixth is that starting with the Hawke-Keating Labor government, Australia has achieved 21 years of consecutive economic growth. During these 21 years, with roughly half under a Labor government and half under a Liberal government, sustained reforms began with the Hawke and Keating governments, continued through to the Rudd and Gillard governments—like the reforms and quick action we took in 2008 and 2009 to stimulate the economy—and continue to set Australia up as a great place to work, to do business and to raise a family. I would like to turn my focus to the great achievements of the Rudd and Gillard Labor governments for the electorate of Braddon, in north-west Tasmania, where I live. We have had achievements across health, education, roads, rail and ports, tourism, industry development and innovation. North-west Tasmania always does better with a Labor government. Federal Labor has delivered two GP superclinics for north-west Tasmania, one in Burnie and one in Devonport. It was interesting to read in our local paper, the Advocate, earlier this week when Senator Colbeck was caught knee-deep in the mud. Senator Colbeck was caught trying to sling mud at the proprietors of the Devonport superclinic for not accepting new patients when a quick call to the clinic would have alleviated his concern. In fact there are three new doctors now taking new patients at the clinic. Together with the Burnie clinic, the strain is being taken off the emergency departments at the North West Regional Hospital and the Mersey Community Hospital. People who do not need the high level of care of an emergency department are being seen within the community—a Labor reform that is saving the community money and keeping people from the stress of going to hospital. Senator Brandis: Mr Acting Deputy President, I raise a point of order that is directed to relevance. I know that there is a lot of latitude given in these MPI debates and that the topic is broad, but the topic in fact is about the incompetence and dysfunction of the Gillard government. I am a little at a loss to see how an attack on Senator Richard Colbeck in relation to the Mersey hospital is relevant at all to the topic of the MPI. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Bernardi ): Senator Urquhart, I would draw your attention to the topic of the MPI. Senator URQUHART: I was, in my opinion, getting to the topic, and I will keep going. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Getting to the topic is not sufficient; you need to be on the topic. Senator URQUHART: I was on the topic, with respect, and I will continue. While keeping people out of hospital is the goal, Labor has significantly refurbished the only Commonwealth owned hospital, the Mersey Community Hospital in Latrobe. Labor committed in 2007 to following through with the Commonwealth takeover of the hospital and, since then, has ensured that it is a valuable community asset. With over $200 million in investment, a significant boost on previous agreements for the hospital, there have been major refurbishments and the purchase of new equipment. Where the Coalition has seen and used this hospital as a political plaything, Labor has got on with the job of delivering a funding boost and ensuring that the people of north-west Tasmania get access to the quality health care they deserve. Importantly, the hospital is being run by the Tasmanian government as part of the north-west Tasmanian health system. With two quality hospitals within 40 minutes' drive, the Tasmanian hospital system is able to provide specialist care and services in either one facility or the other. This maximises the services available to north-west Tasmanians. Labor has not stopped with just a refurbishment to suit existing conditions and existing staff. Ever with an eye to the future, we have invested over $1 million in a centre of excellence in clinical education at the Mersey hospital. This centre of excellence is ensuring that existing staff at the hospital are continuing their professional development, and it allows for the training of doctors and nurses and for allied health professionals to access quality training in their discipline. Along the coast, in Burnie, Labor is on track to deliver a regional cancer clinic to provide treatment and support to north-west and west coast residents suffering from cancer. This $16½ million investment is the result of tremendous lobbying by the member for Braddon, Mr Sid Sidebottom, and the community at large, which unfortunately has the second-highest incidence of cancer in the country. When it opens, most north-west Tasmanians will not have to travel that distance away from their support networks, while those in the remote parts of the region will have less distance to travel. Turning to education, no-one can drive across north-west Tasmania without noticing the 65 schools that were enhanced through the Building the Education Revolution. From the over $6 million invested in new classrooms at the amalgamated Romaine Park Primary School, in Upper Burnie, to the new $2 million science centres at Ulverstone High School and Yolla District High School that are giving students hands-on experience at botany, biology and applied science, these are real investments in the learning environment of students and in facilities for teachers. They are not overpriced school halls that the opposition so often shout about in this place. It is interesting that, when they are in here or when we catch them on a news interview, those opposite are more than happy to talk down these investments in school infrastructure which they know provided a much-needed boost to the schools both in Braddon and right across the country. My advice to those opposite in this election year is simple: do not talk about them. Just pretend they do not exist, because we are really proud of them on this side of the chamber and we know millions of Australian children and their parents are proud of them too. Take the multipurpose halls and libraries that were built across the north-west coast, including at Spreyton Primary School. These halls are now the pride of a community like Spreyton, and they can be used after hours by other groups and on weekends to run events. A new library provides a warm and welcoming environment for students to become excited by reading, setting them up for a lifetime of learning. Across the north-west, Labor's Nation Building Program has boosted the economic infrastructure that gets the fantastic goods our region produces to market and the social infrastructure of sporting halls and facilities and nature reserves. The new swimming pool at Devonport will enable year-round swimming lessons and recreation in an undercover pool for the people of the north-west. The shared pathways built from Ulverstone to Turners Beach and from Burnie through to Somerset are a now vital piece of community infrastructure connecting outer suburbs, with little or no public transport, to the larger centres. To see the hundreds of children and their families using these paths after school and on the weekends is evidence that they are worth every cent—families that no doubt receive the Schoolkids Bonus, a twice yearly payment designed specifically to help with cost-of-living pressures associated with raising a family and getting kids back to school. Most of these same families that use this pathway and benefit from the Schoolkids Bonus are benefitting now from the low-income superannuation co-contribution and cuts to taxes delivered by Labor. These are measures that this Labor government has implemented to make it easier for families to make ends meet, but those opposite would take them all away. They would take away the tax cuts, take away the boost to retirement savings and take away the cash assistance to help with the costs of raising kids. Today the issue raised is about dysfunction, and we are here to talk about dysfunction. It is well and truly on display with the priorities of those opposite. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Bernardi ): Order! The time the debate has expired.