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

He quotes the CEO of the National Australia Bank. I suggest the Leader of the Opposition get him on the phone and ask him whether or not he would endorse the opposition's language of 'budget emergency'. Of course he would not, because responsible businesspeople know that the Leader of the Opposition and his team are seeking political advantage by talking the Australian economy down. What they seek to do every day is to pretend that the Australian economy is somehow weak, to pretend that there is somehow an unsustainable burden of debt.

The Leader of the Opposition ought to know—though, given his lack of knowledge of economics, perhaps he does not—that, compared with countries around the world, the Australian economy is standing resilient and strong, having come through the global financial crisis by unions, businesses, this government and the Australian community working together to ensure we kept Australians in work. Having come through that global financial crisis strong, we are here today with sustainable public finances, a AAA rating by every major ratings agency for the first time in our nation's history and, despite all the ridiculous claims of the opposition, with modest debt—the equivalent of someone earning $100,000 a year having a $12,000 mortgage. We are in a position, therefore, having come through strong with strong public finances and a AAA rating, to build and invest for the future, which is precisely what this government is doing: investing in a clean energy future, which the Leader of the Opposition wants to wreck; investing in a National Broadband Network, which the Leader of the Opposition wants to wreck; investing in infrastructure, which the Leader of the Opposition wants to wreck; and, of course, he is wrecking our chances for our children to have a high-quality, world-class education so we can be a strong and prosperous nation in the future—something the Leader of the Opposition wants to wreck. National mood of gloom? Have a look in the mirror!

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