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

I thank the member for Petrie for that question. We avoided a recession in this country because of the policies put in place by this government. We avoided the skill destruction and the very high unemployment that has been experienced across so many other developed economies. This has had real benefits for working people, particularly in the electorate of Petrie: tripling the tax-free threshold for 49,000 people in the electorate of Petrie, delivering a boost to super for 44,000 workers in Petrie and delivering tax breaks to 12,300 small businesses in Petrie—all of that opposed by the Liberals opposite—because our approach to the economy is one of good economic management, unlike those opposite who have a $70 billion crater in their budget bottom line, which could only mean, if they were in power, huge cuts to health and education. Of course, we have seen what they would do if they were there from what Campbell Newman has been doing in Queensland, the leading edge of which is felt in the electorate of Petrie and in the electorate of Lilley by the slashing of aged-care beds at state-run nursing homes. What we are seeing here is a taste of the future if they were in power: taking a sledgehammer to health and education and a sledgehammer to the economy. We on this side of the House will always stand to support jobs and make sure we have decent health and education.

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