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

I welcome the question from the member for Reid. There are deep-seated challenges still in the global economy. There is international uncertainty and we are still living with the aftershocks of the global financial crisis. We can see that across Europe. Our economy, in the face of those uncertain conditions globally, is resilient. We can see this in the unemployment data out today. Unemployment is at 5.4 per cent, which is low and unchanged from last month. As I said before, something like 850,000 jobs have been created in this country under this government. Everyone on this side of the House is proud of that achievement.

That has been done in the face of very substantial global headwinds, as we all know. As the Prime Minister said at the Press Club last week, the high dollar weighs down on our economy. Despite the fact that commodity prices have come off, we still have a high dollar weighing down on parts of the economy. The uncertainty around the global economy produces a cautious consumer. That is also reflected in the economy. These are very substantial headwinds when it comes to the hiring of workers. That is why this employment performance is so remarkable. We have more people in work than ever before.

This is one of the reasons why our economy is 13 per cent bigger than it was at the end of 2007. Compare that to the British economy, which is four per cent smaller. That is an indication of how the macroeconomic framework and policies that have been put in place in this country have worked so well over the past five years. We have contained inflation, which is at 2.2 per cent, as the Prime Minister said before. There is also a low cash rate of three per cent, lower than at any time under those opposite and under half what it was when they left office. They left a legacy of 10 interest rate rises in a row.

What we know is that we have to keep building on that success during the global financial crisis and look forward. That is why we have put in place the Asian century white paper, so we can maximise the opportunities that flow from growth in the region. We are making the investments in skills and education, we are investing in the NBN and above all, we are putting in place a fiscal policy that supports growth and jobs. The fiscal policy advocated by those opposite is one that will put a sledgehammer right through our economy. It will push unemployment up. When that happens, deficit and debt are pushed up. That is the contrary proposition that is being put by the shadow Treasurer.

We have seen today the complete debacle of the so-called policy on Northern Australia, some thought bubble from Gina Rinehart adopted holus bolus by those opposite. That just shows you how sloppy they are when it comes to policy making. (Time expired)

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