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

When those opposite—and, as we know, they are such a crack economic team made up of the Leader of the Opposition, the member for North Sydney and the member for Goldstein, aided and abetted from time to time by Senator Barnaby Joyce—actually look at what is happening in the global economy and the performance of all stock markets at present, they will see that it is directly impacted by events in Greece and in Europe. That is why we have seen such massive changes in stock market indices across most Western economies in recent times, including those within our own region.

Therefore, in response to the honourable member’s question, we are proud of the fact that we are using the proceeds from the RSPT to increase the retirement income of working families. The impact on the overall economy and on mining in particular is assessed by the Treasury analysis as being positive and therefore the earnings of the industry will be so underpinned into the future.

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