Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the shadow Treasurer for his interjection and remind him, in case he missed it, of the global financial crisis and the global recession. He may choose to do some reading on that at some point, particularly as he is seeking to present himself as the man who has the ability to run Australia’s macro-economy. He might want to catch up with that little bit of news, which has obviously entirely missed his attention.

On the question I have been asked: for the resource super profits tax there is Treasury modelling about the impact on the industry, including the impact on employment. The modelling shows that the industry would continue to grow and consequently job opportunities would continue to grow. I understand that the opposition are involved in a fear campaign here, because that is what the opposition do. They are long on complaint and short on solution. I say to members opposite: let us look at the entirety of the package. There is the resource super profits tax, the company tax reduction, tax breaks for small businesses, superannuation and the regional infrastructure that my colleagues have talked about today. If you take the package as a whole, we are obviously talking about a net positive benefit to the economy, including job opportunities.

If the member wants to be honest about the question of employment, step 1 is to be honest about the figures last week, step 2 is to be honest about the impact of economic stimulus on those figures—the economic stimulus that of course you opposed—and step 3 is to be honest about this package. It would be a change.

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