Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Overnight, the World Bank released their Global development finance report and, unfortunately, I have to inform the Senate it is not a particularly good read. The report updates the outlook for the global economy and more broadly looks at the actions required going forward for global recovery. In the report the World Bank has further downgraded its outlook for the global economy. As my colleagues and I have indicated on previous occasions—perhaps it was not appreciated by members of the Liberal and National parties opposite as much as you would hope—the world faces a financial and economic crisis, the worst crisis in some 75 years. The recent report expects global output now to decline by some 1.7 per cent in the year 2009. Unfortunately, that is considerably more than the World Bank forecast just three months ago.

Major advanced economies are in a deep recession. The World Bank is forecasting the US to decline by three per cent in 2009, the European area by 4.5 per cent and Japan by a massive 6.8 per cent. In highlighting the decline in the economy of such a country as Japan, it is obvious, of course, that it is one of our major trading partners. We are not immune from this world financial and economic crisis. When the economy of a major trading partner like Japan declines in its output by 6.8 per cent—which is a massive figure—Australia is inevitably affected by this world financial and economic crisis. But the Rudd Labor government has taken a range of decisive measures to cushion the Australian economy. (Time expired)