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

I do thank the shadow Treasurer for that Dorothy Dixer. Growth in our economy is solid—growth of 0.6 for the quarter and 2.5 per cent for the year. We have a very strong and solid investment pipeline. In the past three years we have seen the creation of 500,000 jobs—one million jobs in the time that the government have been in power. There has been a surge in investment. All of these things indicate an economy which is in good shape—14 per cent bigger than it was at the end of 2007, eight per cent bigger in the last three years alone.

Of course, there are challenges in our economy and we are an economy which is in transition. But one of the reasons that we are in a position of strength to handle those transitions is due to what this government did to handle the global financial crisis. Because we handled it so well, we did not suffer the very high levels of unemployment and capital destruction that occurred right around the world. If those opposite had had their way, this would not have happened and Australia would have suffered massively high unemployment and capital destruction.

The Leader of the Opposition could not even walk into this parliament to vote in a critical vote that stopped this country from going into recession.

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