Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

This is a very serious debate, and we are quite happy to have a discussion with the opposition about the best way to respond to a global recession which has now imposed on Australia very substantial deficits out across the forward estimates. That is exactly what has happened. Revenue was written down by $40 billion over the forward estimates in MYEFO, and by a further $75 billion in the statement today. That is not just a very substantial hit to the government’s bottom line but reflects the damage that has been done to this economy by these global events. It reflects the damage that has hit people who have super. It reflects the damage that has been done to people who are investors in the stock market. And for the opposition to carry on in that vein is an insult to all of those people who have been hurt by the global financial crisis and the global recession—

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