Katie Allen (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's another week in Canberra and it's another assertion from those opposite that is just plain wrong. There's more doom and gloom from the member for Brand, when the reality is quite the opposite, because we on this side are getting on with the job and we always do. We're getting on with the job of securing our future through a stronger economy. We're making sure taxes are low so that Australians can keep more of what they earn. Unlike those opposite, we believe Australians know how best to spend their money, not the other way around. Equally true is the fact that Australians know they can't trust Labor to manage money. How do Australians know that we are on the right track with regard to economic management? Well, I can tell you: we have had 29 years of consecutive unprecedented economic growth. The Morrison government, with my good friend the member for Kooyong, Josh Frydenberg, as Treasurer, has balanced the budget for the first time in 11 years.

But we're not the only ones who think we're doing a good job: just look to the external bodies such as the International Monetary Fund. The IMF is predicting that Australia will grow faster than the US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and the UK—countries with similar economies and government structures—over the next two years. Australia holds a AAA credit rating and has done for eight consecutive years, one of only 10 countries in the world to have maintained a AAA credit rating. The Reserve Bank governor, Philip Lowe, is also positive about Australia's economic future under our strong economic management. The Reserve Bank isn't known for getting ahead of itself. The Reserve Bank governor confirmed:

Australia's economic fundamentals remain very strong and they provide a solid foundation for us to be optimistic about our future.

We know that those opposite like to talk down the economy. As one of my constituents in Higgins told me, Labor is the party of the glass half empty while we are the party of the glass half full. Where Labor sees problems, we see opportunity. We understand the resilience of Australians. We understand and support the resilience of Australian businesses. We understand and support our economy despite headwinds. Whether they are trade headwinds, bushfires, droughts or now the coronavirus, we understand and invest in businesses getting ahead. We know that Australians trust us to take sensible and proportional steps to help build confidence and act to build a strengthened economy.

When you have a strong economy, you can provide a better safety net when we hit external headwinds. When the devastating bushfires ravaged New South Wales and Victoria earlier this year, the Morrison government was there to lend a hand. And the government's support will continue as our bushfire affected communities rebuild. We can and will weather the storm of a public-health emergency like coronavirus. No-one could have possibly foreseen the speed at which this new virus moved, but Australia was ready. We were ready because of the investments we have made in research and development of institutions like the Doherty institute. Australia has been at the forefront of the response to this terrible global epidemic. I commend the government for its investment in the Doherty institute in creating and developing a vaccine.

It's because of the actions we've taken on the coronavirus that we've got ahead. That includes our responses that have been proportionate and include communication and containment, responses with the Diamond Princessand responses with investment in medical research into the coronavirus vaccine. And we intend to stay ahead. Together as a country we will get through this.

We are supporting Australians through a strong economy and in turn creating a strong future for the next generation. Economically we will weather this storm, and already the Treasury is working on a suite of measures that are targeted, modest, and scalable so we can adjust accordingly as economic implications are realised. Unlike those opposite, we are supporting Australians for the next generation through a strong economy.

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