Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much. I am asked about what is proper and what is not proper. What is not proper is introducing sovereign risk into our national economic conversation, which is exactly what the Leader of the Opposition and his team are endeavouring to do. We have the Clean Energy Finance Corporation working in accordance with Australian law, making responsible arrangements as a finance corporation guided by leading Australian business people. And to that the Leader of the Opposition says: 'Too bad! If I'm ever Prime Minister then I will trash those arrangements, I will hurt private businesses, I will trash our nation's global economic reputation.' The Leader of the Opposition says he will introduce into our global reputation this element of sovereign risk. Well, it is only one way in which the Leader of the Opposition would hurt the Australian economy, hurt jobs and hurt families. I thank the member for Goldstein for asking this question because this should be the focus of public engagement and public debate: the Leader of the Opposition's plan to trash Australia's reputation as a place to invest, ultimately meaning fewer jobs, less prosperity, less opportunity for Australians and their families.

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