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

At least more than 200,000 Australians unemployed. Without that stimulus package we would have borne the full brunt of the world financial and economic crisis. The Rudd Labor government has taken decisive actions to cushion the Australian economy. But we are certainly not out of the woods yet and it is certainly no time to celebrate, because, despite the fact that the Australian economy is the only advanced economy that grew by 0.6 per cent, you need growth of 3.5 per cent to keep unemployment steady. Certainly, 0.6 per cent is well below 3.5 per cent, so unemployment will continue to go up here because of the world financial and economic crisis. Unemployment will continue to rise. There are some ongoing challenges. (Time expired)