Mr REID —My question is addressed to the Minister for Industry, Science and Tourism. Has the minister seen recent reports detailing the opposition's approach to industry policy? Can the minister inform the House how these policies compare to the government's achievements in this area for a competitive Australia?

Dr Theophanous —Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. The minister is not responsible for the opposition's industry policy and the question is therefore out of order. He should be asked a question about his industry policy, of which there is none.

Mr SPEAKER —The member for Calwell will resume his seat. There is no point of order.

Mr MOORE —I am very pleased that the member for Bendigo raised this matter because I know members of the government have been concerned about the rate of progress of the government's record, which is quite remarkable this year, and what has occurred in the opposition. The Prime Minister might not be aware that on Monday both the Leader of the Opposition and the member for Hotham were not in question time. I was expecting a question but nothing occurred. So I went back to the office and picked up the press release that came out from the Leader of the Opposition.

Mr Crean interjecting—

Mr MOORE —It was a joint statement. You were in it too. For a start, they rambled along about what they may and may not do—a metal fabrication council and all these sorts of things.

Mr Beazley —Table it. It is an excellent paper.

Mr MOORE —It is an excellent press release. I quite agree, because in the last two paragraphs you run a great contradiction. It says:

. . . the government's failure to implement an interventionist policy.

Two paragraphs later it says:

However, Labor does not believe that central governments should impose these strategies upon the community.

You have to make up your mind on what you are doing. When I heard all these things—going around and what was coming out from the member for Hotham—I seem to remember having read them somewhere before. Old ACTU habits never die; they keep on going. I went to a trade union handout on policy, the policy from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. All the things I had read the day before from the member for Hotham—export targets, sectoral working parties, replace the Productivity Commission—and there they all were when I turned over to the trade union paper.

Mr Crean interjecting—

Mr MOORE —Sectoral. Didn't you hear? That is the trouble when you go to Bordeaux; you don't hear a lot of things. When I picked this up I immediately recognised that the great policy vacuum the Labor Party has is going to be answered once again by their ACTU mates, their unions. What they say is good enough for Crean. It is no wonder the gentlemen down here are getting restless, because they are writing books, essays and theses about policy issues; but, no, they stay with the ACTU part over here where nothing goes on.

Just in case people have forgotten how long the history goes, we go back to Australia Reconstructed. This is the bible from which all your policy came for the accord. You could not make that work. You cannot get past it. The ACTU tried to run an industry policy by picking up all the very worst of trade union policies? I wish you well, Simon. You have a long way to go.