Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The government is proud of each of the measures that it has taken so far in response to the global financial crisis. The reason for that is that they all represent an overriding discipline to do whatever is necessary to continue to support growth and jobs. We have embraced the measures that we have introduced, including: firstly, the Economic Security Strategy of $10.4 billion last year; secondly, the COAG payments underpinning both health and education reforms of some $15 billion spread out over a four- to five-year period; thirdly, the $6.1 billion long-term plan to assist with the retooling of the Australian automobile industry and associated industry components; fourthly, last year’s decision to embrace a one-off injection of $300 million into local government; and, fifthly, the $4.6 billion nation-building document released at the end of last year, which included within it not just infrastructure packages on roads but also an announcement in response to the recommendations of business for a one-off investment allowance of some 10 per cent. On top of that, we have the $42 billion package that we have announced today.

Each of these measures, in the immediate, short and long term, is necessary to continue to generate activity, growth and jobs in the economy. As the honourable member would know if he were being intellectually honest about the question that he asks, there is no magic in any of this. The alternative which those opposite in their own scoffing way recommend is, in effect, for government to do nothing other than the one proposal that has been put forward, which is a set of tax cuts brought forward—or the lack of proposal, eloquently described by the Minister for Finance and Deregulation in his last answer to the House. In fact, building on that, we have a statement by the member for Curtin. Just the other day, when asked why she was advocating such tax cuts, she said, ‘Well, the fact that the Treasurer has ruled out tax cuts is the reason I’m putting them forward.’

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