Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

He said it is true. They had not thought of it until they came to Australia. They had the Treasurer of Australia tell them, 'Listen, it's a good idea for you to boost economic growth.' They said, 'We're glad we came all this way down to Brisbane to be told by Joe Hockey, the Australian Treasurer, to boost economic growth.' Since then, all we have seen is downgrades in global growth projections.

I pay the Treasurer credit for going to Turkey as he should. I recognise he is away more than he would like to be, and it is a burden on him and his family. In Turkey he said, 'It would have been so much worse, the world economy, if we had not convinced them in Brisbane to add to economic growth.' He said, 'It would be so much worse if it were not for little ol' me, the Treasurer of Australia.' The Treasurer should care more and take some responsibility for Australian economic growth instead of trying to claim credit for global growth, which is on the decline as well.

We have seen unemployment increase from 5.7 to 6.3 per cent—a 13-year high. It is the first time in 20 years that more than 800,000 Australians have been out of work.

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