Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The member opposite is talking about nine surpluses in a row. Of course, $100 billion of that was excess revenue from the mining boom. And what did they do? They squandered it. They would have had a lot bigger surpluses if they had actually used that money in a constructive way. They had rivers of gold which they squandered, and that is why, I have no doubt, all three international rating agencies at one time never, ever offered a AAA credit rating.

Our government's management of the economy is doing that well, and that is why we have seen Wayne Swan get the gong that Peter Costello could never get from Euromoney magazine. It is why we got the AAA credit rating from all three major global rating agencies, something, once again, that Peter Costello could not get. He is feeling a bit grumpy at the moment; I have seen the media reports and I have no doubt that, since he may be taking his anger out at a number of different Liberal Party people, he is a little frustrated because Wayne Swan is achieving what he could not do.

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