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

Again, it is a sad day when the Leader of the Opposition and the Treasury spokesman are the only two people in Australia unhappy today about positive news for the Australian economy. That is what is sad about the response being adopted by those opposite. I would have thought that, in the midst of a grave external economic challenge to Australia, those opposite would find it within themselves to actually rise to the occasion and say something positive about the economy.

The Leader of the Opposition’s question was predicated exclusively on the question of net exports, and that is the assumption which I am seeking to confront. It is a false assumption because it omits any reference to consumption. How is consumption being supported? By the direct action of the government. How is that reflected in the data? By a four-per-cent-plus increase in the retail sales data compared with a one-per-cent-plus contraction in average retail sales data across the other major advanced economies. This has not happened by chance. It has happened because the government has acted through deliberate policy. Those opposite, if they were being honest about it, would recognise that fact. That is why the government’s strategy of nation building for recovery will continue in the future, in three phases: cash payments to support activity in the economy in those critical quarters following the implosion of the global economy in the fourth quarter last year; medium-term infrastructure build through the commencement of the biggest school modernisation program in the country’s history; and then our long-term infrastructure investment, which we outlined in the budget most particularly recently.

This is a nation-building strategy for recovery, a positive strategy for Australia’s future, as opposed to a strategy which is entirely political—all about talking the Australian economy down. I would challenge those opposite to rise to the national occasion and be positive, at least for one day, in their negative campaign against the interests of Australian working families.

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