Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

That's because it was timed out, Mr Speaker! I thank the Deputy Leader of the Opposition for her question. It is quite an extraordinary question, the way it was put. It seems to ignore the fact that the Reserve Bank of Australia is an independent body, is the first point I would make—and you don't need an economics degree to know that. But apparently that's beyond the capacity of those opposite.

The second thing that I will confirm is that the economy started growing under Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, and it grew for 30 years. It grew even when the entire world went into a global financial crisis. The economy continued to grow. When did a recession come? Who was in government? When a recession comes, the Reserve Bank decreases interest rates in order to stimulate the economy.

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