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

It seems that those who are, shall we say, casual in their relationship with the truth are very sensitive when it comes to being pinged for being so casual in that relationship with the truth.

Of course, then we have the third element of their strategy. Firstly, they know there has been a $210 billion revenue collapse; secondly, they themselves admit through that great voice of reason on their part, the member for North Sydney, that their total debt would be $25 billion less than the government’s; thirdly, as the Deputy Prime Minister and the minister for infrastructure have said today, they then show up out on the ground and participate in the launching of infrastructure projects across the country because they want to be part of the local action. This I think also goes to the heart of the truthfulness of the strategy being embraced by those opposite.

But here it is in a nutshell: they have embarked upon a strategy to talk the economy down. That is their strategy—to talk the Australian economy down and to create a greater problem than would otherwise be the case.

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