Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, my question is addressed to the Prime Minister.

Damian Hale (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Hale interjecting

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Solomon is warned!

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I refer the Prime Minister to the 1982-83 recession, when the economy contracted for five quarters, and the 1990-91 recession, when the economy contracted for four quarters. Does he still stand by his statement on Monday that ‘this is the worst recession this country has seen in three-quarters of a century’?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, what is remarkable on a day like this is the fact that the Leader of the Opposition cannot bring himself to say anything positive, not a single word that is positive. Here we are in the midst of the worst global economic recession in three-quarters of a century and he cannot say that when Australia produces positive growth for the first quarter of 2009 that this is a good thing. I would have thought that any person aspiring to leadership in this nation would welcome positive news for the nation. It is positive news for business, it is positive news for small business, it is positive news for people struggling to find a job and it is positive news for local communities—but we are not out of the woods yet. I make no apology whatsoever for being conservative about the projections we have made about the impact of the global recession on Australia. We are not out of the woods yet.

This government has a strategy to see Australia through this recession and to lift Australia out of this global recession over time. We have a strategy being implemented on the ground. I say to those opposite: there are only two people not happy with today’s positive economic data—that is, Malcolm Turnbull and Joe Hockey.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Prime Minister will refer to members by their titles.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The reason for that is it undermines their negative campaign to talk the economy down.

Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, my question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister outline why Australia has avoided a technical recession and how the Australian government will continue nation-building for recovery?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It’s all about me, me, me!

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition just interjected saying it was all about me, me, me. I presume that is a reference to the Leader of the Opposition. If I were concerned about the member for Higgins, that is precisely what I would be saying as well.

I am still surprised that those opposite cannot bring themselves to say anything positive about what has happened today with Australia registering positive economic growth of 0.4 per cent in the March quarter. We are facing a global economic recession. It is the worst in 75 years, and Australia is still not out of the woods. But today’s figures show that the government’s cash stimulus payments have worked to cushion Australia from the global recession until our infrastructure investments kick in over the medium term. That is our strategy. And Treasury has confirmed today that, without cash stimulus payments, Australian growth today would now be in recession. In fact, had we followed the advice of the Leader of the Opposition, it follows that the Australian economy would now be in recession had we not provided those cash payments.

Among the major advanced economies, Australia has now the fastest economic growth, the lowest debt and the lowest deficit and is the only one to now not be in recession. These are positive achievements for Australia and it is a tribute to Australians: it is a tribute to small business people; a tribute to the business community; a tribute to workers; a tribute to local communities; and a tribute to tradies because they have gone out there, rolled their sleeves up, not been turned off by negative sentiment and got on with the business of building their businesses, earning an honest day’s dollar and building the Australian economy. That is what the Australian community has been doing, notwithstanding the fact that those opposite, whose heads are now buried in their papers, have been engaged in a strategy to talk the Australian economy down.

There is no doubt that in the future there will be more ups and downs as the global recession works its way through. Growth will continue to be slow for some time, unemployment will continue to rise and we cannot rule out the possibility of further negative economic growth for Australia in the future. These are uncertain, and in fact almost exceptional, times because of the pressures arising from a simultaneous economic downturn across all of the major economies in the world. But let us reflect on this fact: every one of the major advanced economies today is in recession. Twenty-four of the 30 OECD economies are now in recession and 29 of the 30 OECD economies have experienced at least one negative quarter of economic growth. The Australian economy today has registered positive growth in this most difficult of quarters.

Recessions are not avoided by chance; they are the product of the community working together and the product of government action in the economy as well. That is what we have done. Our nation building for recovery strategy has been implemented in three phases. Firstly, by providing direct cash payments to pensioners, carers, veterans and families in order to provide stimulus to the economy now—some $21 billion worth of activity in the economy, while the private sector was in retreat. On top of that, we announced a new policy for first home buyers to treble the first home owners boost. Why was that necessary? To also bring about immediate activity in the economy in order to provide stimulus at a time when the immediate impact of the global recession was being particularly felt, in the fourth quarter last year and the first quarter this year.

This is what the government has done by way of concrete action. The result of that action—and again those opposite bury their heads in their papers—is that Australian retail sales are now running at 4.8 per cent above their levels of November last year, contrasting with a 1.1 per cent fall across the major advanced economies in the same period.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Curtin finds this entire matter of such inconsequence that she just makes meaningless interjections. I would say to the member for Curtin that at times like this the Australian economy is looking for positive economic news. Those opposite only want to engage in talking the economy down.

The second phase of the government’s strategy is to invest in medium-term infrastructure. That is why we are proudly investing in the biggest school modernisation program Australia has ever seen in electorates right across this country, Liberal, Labor, National and Independent. Why? Because it is good for the nation. We are investing in social housing and in energy efficiency measures. Why? Because these projects can kick in from the middle of the year onwards in order to provide a second injection of activity into the economy.

The third phase of our economic stimulus strategy—our nation building for recovery plan—is long-term infrastructure. These are the measures announced prior to and in the budget itself—rail, road, port, high-speed broadband, investing in clean energy initiatives and investing in building the university and TAFE infrastructure and research infrastructure Australia needs for the future. In fact, in our total economic stimulus strategy, about 70 per cent of the investment is in nation-building infrastructure. We are doing that in order to make a difference.

These three phases of the government’s economic stimulus strategy are aimed to step in and fill the breach while the private economy is in retreat. That is what governments do at times like this. Those opposite, presumably still free-market fundamentalists, say, ‘Let the free market rip; sit on your hands, do nothing and simply allow the unemployment queues of Australia to grow even longer.’ Whereas the government’s strategy is to act, the approach of those opposite is, ‘Let us not act. Let us sit on our hands.’ That is what those opposite have said. We instead have said, ‘We need intervention in the economy to support growth while the private sector is in retreat.’

The opposition have come to this final point recognising that the Australian government’s economic stimulus strategy is delivering support and have embarked upon this negative, dishonest scare campaign on debt and deficit. The Leader of the Opposition knows the following facts to be true: first, that Australia’s net debt is the lowest of all the major advanced economies; second, that Australia’s AAA credit rating has been reaffirmed since the budget; and, third—and this is out of the mouth of the member for North Sydney and the member for Warringah, and out of his own mouth from time to time—that they, if they were in government, when pressed would do exactly the same. Despite these three facts, the lowest net debt of the major advanced economies—

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Prime Minister has now been speaking for well in excess of seven minutes. Is it in order for him to have asked himself three questions—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no point of order. The Prime Minister is responding to the question.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When confronted with questions about debt and deficit, the Leader of the Opposition’s said, and we remember his immortal phrase: ‘It’s not a question of a number.’ But what those opposite know, and he knows himself, is as follows. Firstly, Australia has the lowest net debt of all the major advanced economies; secondly, our AAA credit rating was reaffirmed by the ratings agencies after the budget; and, thirdly, the Leader of the Opposition and his Treasury spokesman have confirmed that their policy on debt and deficit would be virtually the same as the government’s. Therefore, what have they done, given that this undermines every element of logic in their position? They say, ‘Let’s nonetheless run a dishonest, negative scare campaign with one objective—to talk the economy down.

This government is embarked upon a strategy to build the Australian economy up. Those opposite are embarked upon a political strategy to talk the Australian economy down. As I said to the Leader of the Opposition yesterday, the Australian nation, at a time of external challenge to our economic future and to jobs, expect better of their leaders than engaging in a deliberate campaign to talk the economy down and to negatively affect consumer sentiment and business sentiment, which is precisely his political objective because he believes that is the best way to secure his own tenuous hold on the leadership of his party in the face of a challenge from the member for Higgins.