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

I was being very relevant, Madam Speaker. I stand by the midyear budget update. It is important to come back to surplus to give the Reserve Bank maximum flexibility when it comes to cutting interest rates, should they decide to do so. But what is being posed here is some form of hypothetical scenario—a what if. What if something happens in the global economy? I will say this: we have a proven track record of responding to volatility in the global economy. When our country was threatened, we saved it. And who voted against that? Everybody over there. Those opposite voted against the stimulus that saved our country. They voted against it.

Opposition members interjecting—

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