House debates

Tuesday, 3 March 2020

Matters of Public Importance

Economy

4:07 pm

Photo of Dave SharmaDave Sharma (Wentworth, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Remember that—the PBS? The one that you guys didn't add any medicines to? We've done record infrastructure spending. We've overseen once-in-a-generation modernisation and investment in our defence forces and capability, getting defence spending up to two per cent of GDP. We've concluded free trade agreements with China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and the 11 nations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. We are negotiating free trade agreements with the European Union, the United Kingdom and the 16-nation Regional Economic Comprehensive Partnership. All this is at a time of growing global opposition to free trade.

There's no doubt that we face tough economic conditions. We've still got the impact of the drought from last year. We've got the coronavirus, whose impact is highly uncertain. We've got bushfires, too, which will detract from growth. But with strong policy settings, supportive fiscal and monetary policies and a strong public health system, we will act to safeguard our economy. We will act to safeguard the Australian people. And we will emerge from this, as we have in the past, stronger and better for it.

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