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

It is the case that the government is borrowing responsibly to support employment in the Australian economy. It is now absolutely the case, and it has been demonstrated time and time again, that every one of those Australians who has been supported in employment are opposed by those opposite. This has been made very clear. Unemployment would have been much higher if it had not been for the responsible course of action this government embarked upon to support employment in the Australian community.

There is some discussion from those opposite about paying off debt. I can tell you one thing: all of those people out there with families are very appreciative of the fact that their families are in employment because we had the common sense to borrow and support employment and business in the Australian community. We have had the capacity to do so more than just about every other advanced economy in the world, and we have taken the responsible course of doing that to protect our communities. We understand the human cost of unemployment. We understand the economic cost of unemployment. We understand the social cost of unemployment.

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