Andrew Leigh (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, what does recent data say about the strength of the Australian economy and what is the Australian government doing to ensure the economy remains strong?

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Berowra is warned.

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

In the face of ongoing global uncertainty the Australian economy continues to outperform virtually every other advanced economy. In the year to March our economy has grown by 4.3 per cent. That is more than twice that experienced by other major advanced economies. So far this year 100,000 jobs have been created in Australia—800,000 jobs during the period of the government.

And over the year to March, private business investment has grown by 20 per cent, to be at its highest level of GDP in 40 years. And in the past year the advance stage of the investment pipeline in resources has grown by nearly $90 billion. Consider that: over the past year, investment in resources at the advanced stage has grown by $90 billion. All of this has happened in the full knowledge that a carbon price was starting on 1 July.

All of these facts about economic growth, about the performance of our economy over the past year, absolutely torpedo all of the lies that have been told by the Leader of the Opposition—absolutely torpedo the scare campaign that he has been mounting over the past year.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Treasurer will resume his seat. I ask him to withdraw the use, if I just heard him use the word 'lie'—

Mr Robert interjecting—

Order! The member for Fadden! The difficulty I have is that I often cannot hear a thing. That is probably a blessing on numerous occasions, but I did not hear the first part because of the noise. The Treasurer will withdraw.

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

I do withdraw, Madam Deputy Speaker. Over the past year the Leader of the Opposition has been running around like Chicken Little, saying the sky is going to fall in. And, of course, in that time, our economy has gone from strength to strength to strength. So when you look at that data, and see the performance of the Australian economy, and you reflect on all of the distortions that the Leader of the Opposition has been putting in place, you can see that he is unfit for high office—because he is constantly at war with the facts; he does not have the temperament and he does not have the ability to understand what is happening in our national economy. He would rather see the country and the economy fail than this government succeed, because he can never take a position in the national interest. For our part, we are focusing on policies which will grow our economy and spread the opportunities right around the whole of Australia. We understand how important it is to help households, and to help small businesses, that are not in the fast lane of the mining boom.

We had a motion in the House this morning that celebrated our strong economy, moved by the member for Fraser, and the Leader of the Opposition could not even bring himself to vote for that. This just shows how unfit for high office the Leader of the Opposition is. (Time expired)

Andrew Leigh (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker, I ask a supplementary question. The Treasurer has spoken about the strong performance, in the full knowledge of carbon pricing, of the Australian economy. Is there more recent data that supports this?

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

I thank the member for Fraser, because the recent data puts a wrecking ball right through the Leader of the Opposition's aggressively negative campaign talking down our economy. He was saying the price rises would go through the roof, that jobs would be destroyed—well, we have seen 14,000 jobs created in July alone; 100,000 jobs over the past year. We have seen the TD Securities inflation gauge record its lowest annual point in nearly three years. All of these are facts. But we have a Leader of the Opposition who is at war with the facts and with reality. He will say anything and do anything to achieve his political objective, including trying to talk down our economy. And in that he has been joined by the Premier of Queensland—

Mr Ewen Jones interjecting—

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

Madam Deputy Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I put it to you that it is disorderly for the Treasurer to continue to make false assertions about what the Leader of the Opposition believes and what he does, and I would ask you to—

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The Treasurer has the call.

Mr Ewen Jones interjecting—

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

The Leader of the Opposition has endorsed the remarks of the Premier of Queensland —

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Herbert will remove himself from the chamber under standing order 94(a).

The member for Herbert then left the chamber.

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

that the Queensland economy was like Spain. This was one of the most deeply irresponsible statements that has ever been made by a political leader in this country—and it has been endorsed by the Leader of the Opposition. And of course he has denied the fact that electricity prices have been going up for years and years and years, and he has sought to distort those facts for political advantage. What it shows is that he is unfit for high office and not fit to run a $1.5 trillion economy.