Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We will see on Thursday night if you have an approach that resembles anything like a policy of doing something about jobs, because every time we offer up an approach it is either criticised from the sidelines or fundamentally opposed. All of the evidence that comes in, whether it is the unemployment data that came in last week, the retail figures for March that came in last week or the housing data for March that came in last week, is clear. The work that this government has undertaken to stimulate the economy is having an effect to protect and support jobs. There are 1½ million people in the retail industry in Australia, such as the people who work at Centro in Bankstown or Bass Hill Plaza in my electorate—people who have jobs because we have stimulated the economy, putting money in people’s pockets that is being spent at shopping centres and supermarkets around the country.

If you want any proof of the effect that that stimulus is having on the economy to protect and support jobs, compare the data for retail figures in Australia to the rest of the world.

See this speech in context