Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

The Treasurer was very keen to quote the quarterly figures last quarter. Now he says don't worry about the quarterly figures, just look at the annual figure and average it. Do not take year to year, just average it, he says, in desperation to find a figure that suits him.

We are growing slower than Estonia, the Slovak Republic, Greece—0.9, Poland, the United States—0.9, the Czech Republic, Spain—an economy that has had considerable difficulties—growing at one per cent, and Sweden. It is not a story that the Treasurer or the government can be proud of, when it comes to economic growth, or they can boast about. Every figure I have quoted is correct. I invite the Treasurer to correct any of them, if he can, and I do not believe he will be able to.

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