Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for the call, Madam Speaker. My question is to the Treasurer, and I refer to today's national account figures, which show real GDP growth for the quarter is 0.3 per cent, less than half market expectations. Can the Treasurer confirm the same national accounts show that Australia is now officially in an income recession? When will the treasurer acknowledge that the budget has hurt the economy?

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

I am afraid the honourable member just does not understand the fact that Australia's income has fallen as a direct result of and directly related to the fact that we have seen significant commodity prices come off. It is so irresponsible for the member for McMahon to talk like that because if he were to apply that test to real gross domestic income then there would have been what he calls three recessions under the last six years of Labor. You see, this is the problem: they have got no sense of history. But they were all there. They are myth makers. They do not understand that when there is a significant fall in the terms of trade it does have an impact. It has an impact directly on real gross domestic income. Labor do not understand that they are the problem, not the solution. We are the solution. We are the ones who are trying to strengthen the Australian economy. We are the ones who are trying to everything possible to ensure that the good news keeps coming in relation to some of the key economic data.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Franklin and the member for Greenway!

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

I have already pointed out that job growth this year under the coalition has been running at twice the level it was under Labor. Under Labor it was 5,300 a month, and under us it is 12,300 per month during the course of the year. I have also pointed out the strong retail trade figures for September. Retail trade rose 1.2 per cent, seasonally adjusted. This translates into a rise above market expectations for the quarter. Strong job advertisement numbers were released on 3 November—this is hugely important. Small and medium enterprise business conditions are at the highest levels since 2009.

Opposition members interjecting—

I cannot hear you guys over there now. It is amazing, isn't it? Deloitte Access Economics shows investment is strong. Ernst & Young's Australasian Capital Confidence Barometer recognises that we now have 96 per cent of businesses believing the economy is improving, and 90 per cent are confident corporate earnings will be better than a year ago. Most importantly, we are starting to see consumer confidence levels, business expectation levels, and business confidence levels all at long-term trend. But there is more to be done. The only impediment is the Labor Party, which just does not understand economics.