Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

One thing's for certain: we on this side of the House won't talk down the Australian economy. We won't talk down the Australian economy, and that's because today's national accounts reveal that the Australian economy is still growing strongly. At 2.8 per cent, it's faster than the OECD average and faster than any G7 country except the United States. That's our economic record. Over 1.1 million new jobs have been created. We're one of only 10 nations in the world to have a AAA credit rating from the three leading credit-rating agencies. Unemployment has come down to five per cent, the lowest level since 2012, and, as the Prime Minister has pointed out numerous times to this chamber, over 100,000 young people have got a job over the last financial year.

That is our record, compared to those opposite. When they were in government, debt was rising and unemployment was rising, and they had no plan for the economy of Australia. Let me just remind the House of a few numbers. Today's national accounts have revealed that GDP growth is 2.8 per cent. What was it when Labor was last in office, in September 2013, when we came to government? It was 2.1 per cent. GDP-per-capita growth averaged just 0.5 per cent in Labor's last year in office. What is GDP-per-capita growth today? It was 0.5 per cent when Labor was in office; today it's 1.2 per cent. Compensation of employees is now 4.3 per cent. What was it in Labor's last year in office? It was 3.2 per cent.

It doesn't matter which economic data, which indicator, you look at today; we are doing better than Labor ever did. We are growing the economy. We're creating more jobs. We've seen our AAA credit rating reaffirmed, and next year we will deliver the first budget surplus in more than a decade.

See this speech in context