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

I had the opportunity earlier today to meet with some workers from Alcoa, who of course represented hundreds of others. I did that in association with their local members—with the members for Corio and Corangamite. Interestingly, those workers did not ask me the question that the Leader of the Opposition has posed today, because they understand what is driving change in the business that they work for. They understand with a great degree of sophistication what is driving change in the business that they work for. They understand that the high Australian dollar is making a big difference to their business—there is a big pressure on their shoulders. They understand, too, that we are seeing low prices around the world for aluminium. They understand, as well, that our economy generally is in a very different condition from the nations of Europe. Indeed, they volunteered that to me. Compared with the Leader of the Opposition's fear mongering—

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