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

I want to make the point that when those reforms were brought in, they were brought in in difficult economic circumstances. This government understands that if we are going to stay ahead of the curve what we have to do is continue to strengthen the resilience of our economy. And what we must do to strengthen the resilience of our economy in the 21st century is make sure that as an economy we have cleaner energy sources.

You cannot grow strongly in the 21st century unless you have cleaner energy sources and you have investment in renewable energy. That is why carbon pricing—although it is a difficult reform and is being opposed by those opposite, tooth and nail—must be introduced. If we want to continue to reinforce the resilience in our economy we have to keep up to the mark with the long-term reforms. That is why the government is committed to carbon pricing. That is why the government is committed to the MRRT, a fundamental tax reform. What it does is recognise that we need a revenue stream to give a tax cut to business, to many of those businesses that are not in the fast lane of the resources boom. We are putting in place fundamental reforms to make sure that we strengthen the resilience of our economy for the long term.

We are in our 20th year of continuous economic growth. If we want to continue that record going forward, we have to face up to the big questions, to the big reforms for the future. Do what is right for the future of the country. That is what we are doing on this side of the House when it comes to the economy, as we are doing right across the board, while those opposite are just putting their own selfish political interests ahead of the national interest, every time.

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