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

My question is to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to his numerous statements in January this year that the $10 billion cash splash had:

… a very significant impact on spending on the basics of life … such as socks and jocks …

Today Pacific Brands, the manufacturer of Bonds, Holeproof, Clarks, Hush Puppies, King Gee and Hard Yakka, sacked 1,850 Australian workers in Cessnock, Wentworthville, West End, Nunawading, Coolaroo and Bellambi. Does the Treasurer now regret claiming his $10 billion Christmas cash splash would create 75,000 jobs when all we are seeing are more job losses?

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

It is certainly a sad day when we see so many job losses. There is no doubt about that. The reason the government are so emphatic about our Economic Security Strategy, delivered last October, and our Nation Building and Jobs Plan is precisely to support jobs in the Australian community. One can only imagine how much worse it might be if we had not acted last October.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

It is almost as if you can hear the glee in their voices, so they can score a cheap political point about such a serious matter. It is the case that the Economic Security Strategy will support 75,000 jobs and what we know is how much worse our situation would be if those opposite were currently on this side of the House. The Economic Security Strategy—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

Mr Speaker, this is a very serious matter. The Economic Security Strategy that we brought down last October was estimated to lift growth by between one-half of one per cent and one per cent and to support up to 75,000 jobs. That is the modelling from the Treasury. Our Nation Building and Jobs Plan is estimated to lift growth by around half a per cent in 2008-09 and by between three-quarters of one per cent and one per cent in 2009-10. We have to think about it like this: we are in the middle of a global recession. We have seen the sharpest contraction in the global economy in our lifetimes, and that is delivering a very significant shock to the Australian economy and a substantial reduction in demand. It is causing higher unemployment. We pointed directly to this in February when we delivered our Nation Building and Jobs Plan, because we said that our No. 1 priority was to support employment in the Australian community.

Who opposed that plan? All those over there opposed that plan. Effectively, when they came into this House and voted against the Nation Building and Jobs Plan, they voted for higher unemployment. Their approach is to sit on their hands and do nothing. Let us just take our Nation Building and Jobs Plan, which will support the employment of up to 90,000 people. If the Leader of the Opposition were the leader on this side of the House, there would be 90,000 more people unemployed in Australia. That is the truth of it, because these plans are designed to support employment in the Australian community precisely at a time when the global recession is imposing a very sharp contraction on this economy. This government are determined to act, and act we have. We have acted with some force and we have acted with power—when those on the other side of the House have simply sat on their hands and scored cheap political points. They should be condemned for that.