Gavan O'Connor (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries) Share this | Hansard source

I would most certainly like to answer the honourable member’s question, but I preface my answer by giving you the level of Liberal interest rates: they rose to 18 per cent under the Prime Minister. I think the Prime Minister actually cited in the parliament yesterday business interest rates of some 18 per cent. I would note in answering the member’s question that, when the Prime Minister was Treasurer of this country, he engineered interest rates of around 11 per cent. As we know, the inflation rate underpins interest rates—that was 11 per cent as well. At that time the Australian economy was going backwards, was in negative growth, so I am quite happy to say that Liberal interest rates, engineered by the Prime Minister, were 18 per cent. If he is an economic genius and if Labor engineered interest rates of around 18 per cent then we must be geniuses too. I can only draw that conclusion. But let us get back to the Prime Minister.

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