Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question again is to the Prime Minister. It refers to the Deputy Prime Minister’s answer to the previous question and to the Treasurer’s recent comments on the drought when he warned:

The June quarter national accounts showed that farm GDP fell 2.3 per cent. If we had a 2.3 per cent fall in GDP generally, that would be a very, very severe recession.

Prime Minister, given the fact that the June accounts also show a 2.4 per cent contraction in the manufacturing sector over the past year, including three consecutive quarters of negative growth, doesn’t this mean by that logic that there is a manufacturing recession in Australia as well?

John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No. For the edification of the Leader of the Opposition, there will be some national accounts figures coming out tomorrow.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Pyne interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sturt is warned!