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

I thank the member for Dobell for that question. The budget I handed down last night reaffirms Australia's record as one of the best performing developed economies in the global economy. We have strong growth prospects, we have strong job creation and we are getting the budget back in the black in record time.

We have avoided in this country the very high rates of unemployment that have occurred in other advanced economies and we have avoided the crippling levels of debt that we have seen in other advanced economies. We have a budget bottom line which is indeed the envy of the developed world and levels of deficit and debt which are the envy of the developed world but, despite this strength, we know there has been short-term softness. We know that parts of our country have been badly affected by natural disasters, and we know that many parts of the economy still feel the overhang of the global financial crisis and the global recession, which is also weighing very heavily on government revenues. And of course there are many businesses out there that are certainly struggling under the weight of the high dollar.

But against all of this we know that we have a very big investment pipeline in Australia. We are going to go through an investment boom, with business investment set to reach 50-year highs in the years ahead. That is why we are forecasting growth of four per cent in 2011-12 and 3¾ per cent in 2012-13. And that is why we are forecasting unemployment to come down to 4.5 per cent, because at the core of this budget is our commitment to jobs, jobs and more jobs. That is our commitment. It is not a commitment that was shared by those opposite during the global financial crisis and the global recession. If they had had their way, unemployment in this country would be far higher and deficits and debt would be far higher.

So we are very optimistic about the future of our economy, because we can now build on the strength of our economy as we come through the global recession. That is why the budget gets us back in the black, gets more Australians into better jobs, gives more help to families and, particularly—something we are all proud of on this side of the House—invests in mental health. So the budget is about laying down an economic blueprint for the future so we can succeed in the Asian century and maximise the opportunities for our children and our grandchildren.

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