Senator FAULKNER (New South Wales) (17:14): I rise to speak on this matter of public importance. This afternoon the Senate is witnessing the political theatre of the absurd, exemplified by that contribution—and I am being generous—by Senator Bernardi. The opposition, the most negative in Australian political history, has itself initiated a debate on negativity. That same opposition, incredibly, accuses the government of negativity. Does the opposition have any capacity at all for self-assessment? Does the opposition have any understanding at all of its own shortcomings? Does it have no insight, no shame to initiate such a debate? This is the pot calling the kettle black, Senate style. I am reminded of a poem from Maxwell's Elementary Grammar—William Henry Maxwell's indispensable guide to English grammar published early last century. We always hear from Senator Brandis how erudite he is— Senator Brandis interjecting— Senator FAULKNER: We do, and of course you are. So I thought I would share this poem with Senator Brandis and the Senate. It goes like this: 'Oho!' said the pot to the kettle; 'You are dirty and ugly and black! Sure no one would think you were metal, Except when you're given a crack.' 'Not so! not so!' kettle said to the pot; 'Tis your own dirty image you see; For I am so clean—without blemish or blot— That your blackness is mirrored in me.' Of course, all the hard-bitten people around this building would say that there is no purity in politics. But there are no political points to be gained for hypocrisy either, and this MPI absolutely takes the cake for political hypocrisy, because we have seen an orgy of negativity from those opposite. The Liberal Party, led by Mr Abbott, have turned negativity into an art form. It is so mindless, so knee-jerk, so Pavlovian. We all remember that the opposition said no to economic stimulus and safeguarding Australian jobs during the darkest days of the global financial crisis. We all know that the opposition says no to taxing big miners and no to an increase in superannuation contributions for Australian workers. The opposition says no to making big polluters pay for carbon emissions, no to a cleaner and healthier environment for future generations of Australians, no to the National Broadband Network and no to giving Australians faster and more efficient access to the worldwide web and the digital economy. The opposition says no to health reform, no to the Schoolkids Bonus, no to increased family payments, no to increased payments for pensioners and no to increased payments for students. But of course they do not stop there. The modern Liberal Party—Senator Brandis's lot—also say no to putting out any policies before the election. They say no to publishing any costings and no to telling us where their $70 billion in cuts over four years will come from to fill their infamous budget black hole. So yes, there is a pattern here: mindless, carping negativity about the government. But about their own intentions we have nothing but deliberate obfuscation and deception. Simply put, the allegation in this matter of public importance, of government negativity, is preposterous. It just does not stand up. On the other hand, the government does have a positive agenda. The government continues to do what is necessary to keep Australia's economy strong, to look to the future, to provide opportunity to all, to have the determination to do what is right—even at the cost of short-term popularity. Our economy is healthy, strong and growing. Our books are the envy of the world's advanced economies. We avoided recession and not only saved hundreds of thousands of jobs but created jobs. Our economy is nearly 13 per cent bigger than when Labor came to office in 2007. Australia is now the 12th largest economy in the world. Since Labor came to office we have moved up three places in the rankings—passing South Korea, Mexico and Spain. For the first time in our history, Australia has a AAA credit rating from all three ratings agencies. This was never achieved during the Howard years, and we are currently one of only seven— Senator Brandis: Acting Deputy President, I rise on a point of order. As Senator Faulkner surely knows, during the Howard government Australia had a AAA credit rating from all international ratings agencies. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT ( Senator Marshall ): That is a debating point, Senator Brandis. Resume your seat. There is no point of order. Senator FAULKNER: Not only is Senator Brandis overwhelmingly negative, he does not know the standing orders of the Senate. I suggest he goes and learns them. It will do him good for the future as those long years in opposition roll on. We now have a low unemployment rate, too—just 5.2 per cent, compared to 11.7 per cent in Europe. Over 840,000 jobs have been created since Labor came to office in 2007. Inflation is contained within the RBA's target band, giving the RBA the flexibility it needs to keep interest rates low, taking the pressure off mortgagees. Interest rates are currently lower than they were at any point during the period of the last Liberal government. And we have low net debt: as a percentage of GDP it is around one-tenth of the rate across major advanced economies. It was the American writer Mark Twain—I believe previously quoted by some opposition senators—who said in his 1889 novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court: … one mustn't criticise other people on grounds where he can't stand perpendicular himself. Mr Abbott and his Liberal liegemen in the Senate here could well take account of Mark Twain's advice. The ACTING DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Order! The time for this debate has now expired.