Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Senator, it was up 2½ per cent over the previous year in December. That is in contrast to overseas sales, which in the US were down 14 per cent and in New Zealand were down seven per cent. So what we saw in Australia over the Christmas period and the month of December was growth in spending in a number of sectors. I think what that tells you is that a lot of jobs were protected. That stimulus went to protect jobs, keep consumer confidence and increase consumer spending. I think that has been perfectly obvious. I am supported in this by Mr Richard Evans, an old parliamentary colleague from Western Australia—I think he was a Liberal at the time—who said that ‘the Rudd government has done its job with the $10.4 billion stimulus package’. When you talk to the people who are in business, who saw the impact of the stimulus, they say it worked—that it provided assistance to consumers to spend; therefore, it protected and grew jobs. What we do know is that there are a lot of jobs in retail and manufacturing in this country that directly benefited from the stimulus. Can I thank the coalition for their support in passing it.