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

The deputy shadow Treasurer was relying on a report from Citigroup. I have not read the report from Citigroup, but there is another report that the deputy shadow Treasurer has been using—from ABN AMRO—on our stimulus package, and I can tell him, ‘Don’t use it any more because it is just completely wrong.’ So it may well be that the figuring in this report is not right, but we will go away and have a look at it and look at the basis on which they made their calculations. But those opposite will take any opportunity to pointscore about what is a very serious initiative to create jobs in this country. The installation of pink batts is labour intensive and we can do it at a time when it will bring a tremendous economic benefit to this country. The installation of these batts is the equivalent, over time, of taking one million cars off the roads. So it is a very important energy efficiency initiative, but it is also a very important job creation initiative. All of these questions are really about them trying to wriggle out from underneath the fact that they are completely opposed to our Nation Building and Jobs Plan—a plan which is absolutely the right thing to do by this country. We have the endorsement of the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group, ACCI and other small business organisations, but not of the federal opposition. It just shows you how negative they are and what policy alternatives they do not have.

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