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

The member’s question goes to jobs. He asked specifically about jobs in one part of Australia and in one industry. My response goes also to the fact that employment across Australia is generated by many factors, not least of which has been the government’s investment in stimulus for the last year and a half. As a consequence of those measures, we have added in the vicinity of a quarter of a million jobs in this country while we have seen jobs being lost right across the rest of the world.

Secondly, the Leader of the Opposition interjected before that in fact he had never argued that stimulus was not necessary. I believe I have got his interjection correctly. He said before in an interjection that stimulus was not necessary. I also draw the attention of the House to what the Leader of the Opposition has actually said on this subject. The Leader of the Opposition, who is carefully avoiding the attention of the debate at this moment, said the following:

… the economic stimulus wasn’t necessary to strengthen Australia’s economy at a time of global recession.

That is what—

See this speech in context