Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Therefore, the critical thing is that you have an economic strategy for the future, given the constraints which we inherited from the international economy, the challenges which we inherited from the domestic economy and the roll-through impact—the member for Forrest laughed to herself at the impact—of 10 interest rate rises in a row or Costello’s $400 a month interest rate hike for working families across Australia. If you want to know what impacts on overall wealth and overall prosperity for Australian families, think very carefully about the cumulative impact of the interest rate regime prosecuted by those opposite: 10 interest rate rises in a row—a $400 interest rate hike per month imposed on working families.

I would suggest that those opposite get with the government’s economic agenda being proposed in the Senate and act responsibly with us in building long-term national infrastructure; hence our proposal that we put forward in the parliament today. Get with us on the challenge to boost long-term productivity growth and get out of the way in the Senate of a responsible budget surplus which provides this nation with a buffer for dealing with critical economic challenges which lie ahead.

See this speech in context