Nigel Scullion (NT, Country Liberal Party, Minister for Community Services) Share this | Hansard source

I am informed that it was 22 per cent for business loans. As we are having this interesting comparison of the performance of government, let me say that, again, it comes down to two things. The first is the capacity to create an economy which provides fantastic growth in jobs and low interest rates. All of those aspects that make up an economy, including inflation, are fundamental to a good economy. When you have those fundamentals you can run a government that everybody in Australia enjoys. People are enjoying the good governance of a good economy at this moment because there are 2,183,000 who have a job today who did not have a job in 1996. The opposition come into this place and say, ‘What about the people who are having difficulty buying a home?’ I have gone to great lengths to inform the Australian people and those on the other side that, whilst the Australian government has done a tremendous job by giving everybody a job and ensuring that interest rates are far lower than they ever were under Labor—and there is more to do—we will continue to implore the states and territories, the Queensland branch of the Labor Party, the New South Wales branch of the Labor Party and the Western Australian branch of the Labor Party to do their bit as well. So, instead of ripping off the people of the states and territories, we must ensure that the relationship between the Labor Party and the Australian people in those places reflects the need to stop taxing the people. We have done the right thing. We have a fantastic economy. We need the Labor Party to talk to their mates in the other jurisdictions to ensure that the full benefits of the market economy flow to all Australians. (Time expired)