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

As I was saying, I enjoy these questions, and it is about time that the Liberal opposition started to focus a little more on these particular issues. There have been a wide range of welcoming and congratulatory statements in support of the Labor Party’s decisive action in delivering the fiscal stimulus, including from the International Monetary Fund and from the head of the Australian Treasury, Dr Henry. He has pointed out the importance of that decisive action in the stimulus package in cushioning the Australian economy in the worst circumstances we have seen since the Great Depression, some 75 years ago, and of the vital role it has played, for example, in the retail sector—I think I outlined yesterday that retail sales in Australia are five per cent higher than they were in November last year—cushioning the Australian economy and protecting Australian jobs. We make absolutely no apologies for this approach. (Time expired)