Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

They are laughing! I am glad they are because I just want to cite someone very close to the Labor Party. That is why Swannie has got his head down—and you should all learn from him. The Reserve Bank of Australia board member John Edwards, principal adviser to Paul Keating and appointed by the Labor Party to the Reserve Bank, said yesterday:

I’ve no doubt there is a budget crisis—

Hello, someone in the Labor Party that understands economics knows that it is a budget crisis! He went on:

We’re accumulating debt as a higher share of GDP and of course in absolute terms, [it’s] absolutely astronomical compared to far more serious episodes in Australian history, including recoveries from serious recessions.

If we do not do something about the debt and deficit legacy of Labor, we will face a crisis in Australia. In fact a Reserve Bank board member appointed by the Labor Party says that it exists now so to Labor I say: get out of the way and let us fix the budget!

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