Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for La Trobe for winning back his seat. I am sure that Jason Wood 2.0 is going to be even better than Jason Wood 1.0, because he shares the same values that we all share, and they are that you want to have a strong economy with good jobs growth and you want to give people hope that tomorrow is going to be better than today. Today the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the September quarter national accounts. This is the final statement on the economy that Labor left behind. It shows that the economy is growing at below trend. It shows rising unemployment and it proves that the deficit has been deteriorating. It also proves that the debt is going to keep increasing. The fact of the matter is that the economy is now going to have to deal with the fact that mining investment is going to come off from around eight per cent of GDP to three per cent of GDP. One of the challenges for us—which we are up for—is that we have to build the infrastructure that is going to help to drive a productive economy over the next few years. It is now time to retool Australia for the challenges that lie ahead. The Prime Minister—the infrastructure Prime Minister—is absolutely committed to that, as are all members of the coalition.

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