Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I was just making the point about the strength of our economic fundamentals and the importance of our economic fundamentals to the peace of mind of all Australians. Nothing is more important to peace of mind than the capacity to get a job, and 800,000 jobs have been created in this country under this government—and, every step of the way, those opposite have talked down our economy. When we moved to stimulate our economy and to save jobs, they voted against it, and almost sank it, in the Senate. What would Australia be like today if they had succeeded in doing that? It is because we put in place a responsible response to the global financial crisis and the global recession, and because we put in place a responsible fiscal policy to bring the budget back to surplus, that we have strong economic fundamentals. And day in, day out, through their negative approach to everything, those opposite come in here and trash our economic fundamentals; they stick their head in the sand and will never acknowledge them. That shows that they are unfit for high office. The Leader of the Opposition does not have the temperament and does not have the experience for high office.

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