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

I thank the member for La Trobe for her question because the Australian economy grew by a solid 0.7 per cent in the December quarter and by 2.7 per cent through the year. This is further confirmation that the economic fundamentals in the Australian economy are strong despite some soft spots in the economy and, of course, recent natural disasters.

Today’s figures are underpinned by a very strong export performance. Exports contributed 0.7 per cent to the quarterly outcome despite wet weather in December. Inventory growth contributed to today’s outcome as well reflecting a large build-up in agricultural production. We also saw strong growth in machinery and equipment investment, which increased by 4.7 per cent—the first quarterly increase since the small business and general tax break ended in 2009.

If we look past the lumpiness in engineering construction, the fact remains that engineering construction is 12.4 per cent higher over the year. This confirms that there is a surge in engineering construction underway. This builds on the very strong capex figures that we have seen in recent days. There is something like $129 billion planned in capital expenditure for 2010-11 and, of course, more for 2011-12.

So today’s outcome is a good outcome for Australia. It should be welcomed by those opposite, but of course it is not because, as we know, they are economically illiterate and they are simply not interested in some of the basic facts about our economy. When we look—

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