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

I would again remind the senator that if he wishes to compare us with the US their debt to GDP ratio in 2012 is 83.8 per cent, while the government's budget MYEFO update in 2012-13 has net debt as a percentage of GDP at 9.4 per cent. That is 83 per cent compared with 9.4 per cent. I think the senator is saying that we should somehow look to the US as a better example of how to manage an economy through a global financial crisis than Australia. I make no criticism of the United States—they had to deal with an enormous financial crisis and it was particularly difficult for the US economy. But the reality is that our figures, our economy and our jobs are in a far stronger position than those of the United States.