Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Bishop for the question. I was outlining yesterday that the Australian economy is in a strong position. We avoided the recession that struck so many advanced economies. We have strong economic growth, a low unemployment rate and strong public finances. There are also challenges facing the nation and the government as we move to implement and effect long-term economic reform. As we have seen in the media of late, there appears to have been a breakdown in the consensus that has been needed in the past and is needed for the future when it comes to economic reform. The reality is that Australia needs political parties, political leaders, business leaders and the community to engage in a constructive discussion, a dialogue, about economic reform. You cannot simply say no and you cannot simply turn your back on reform. Australians deserve more than that.

What we have seen from the opposition has been quite extraordinary in the last few days and weeks, with Mr Robb debating floating of the dollar and Mr Hockey debating others in his party room as well as the government when it comes to his suggestion that we should intervene in the competitive market for interest rates. We believe the Australian people deserve more than a retreat to economic populism; they deserve a constructive economic debate. We are very pleased that some members of the opposition appear to be recognising this important fact. We are very pleased to see that even Ms Julie Bishop and Mr Turnbull have been urging the shadow Treasurer to exercise caution when he talks about regulating interest rates and the banks. I will perhaps come to this in the next question. (Time expired)