Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. I refer to the December quarter national accounts, which recorded the highest household savings since 1992 and an economy going backwards. Given this evidence that cash handouts have failed to create a single job, why has the Prime Minister borrowed another $13 billion on the national credit card to hand out this week?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. I am not surprised by the fact that industrial relations did not form part of his first question today. Those who observed his press conference just now will be wondering what, in fact, the opposition’s policy on industrial relations is, as of five past two this afternoon.

The Leader of the Opposition asked a question about the impact of the government’s economic stimulus strategy on employment. I refer to the fact that in the most recent national accounts Australia was still able to generate positive growth in consumption of 0.1 per cent for the December quarter—against a G7 average decline of something like 0.4 per cent. I also say to the Leader of the Opposition that consumption is critical because of its impact on the retail sector. It represents 57 per cent of demand in the economy. The retail sector generates 1½ million Australian jobs. If consumption and retail are doing okay in Australia, there is a positive impact on jobs. Therefore, the impact of our stimulus strategy is of direct relevance to those people employed in that sector, which represents 14 per cent of the Australian workforce.

The figures show that retail trade rose by 3.8 per cent in December 2008 and then grew by a further 0.2 per cent in January. Contrast that performance with, say, Canada, where it fell by 5.4 per cent in December; the US, where it fell by three per cent in December; Japan, where it fell by 1.9 per cent in December; Germany, where it was down by nearly one per cent in December; and New Zealand, where it fell by one per cent in December. I draw to the honourable gentleman’s attention that Westfield, a large owner of shopping centres in Australia, saw an increase in sales of 2.5 per cent in December 2008. Their stores in the US saw falls of 14 per cent and the UK was down three per cent. I could draw the honourable member’s attention to what Michael Luscombe, the CEO of Woolworths, had to say. In talking about the impact of the economic stimulus strategy, he said on 28 February:

… we saw it in the basic commodities and that’s been made pretty public. I would think there’s a little bit more legs in it, and there’s no doubt that the timing of the next one which is around March/April is probably about the right time for the next one to come on.

The Leader of the Opposition needs also to reflect on comments by others about the impact of the stimulus strategy. Deutsche Bank, through its chief economist, said: ‘Retailers were bolstered by the cash-bonus-inspired strength in sales, and they responded in January by’—wait for it—‘retaining higher than usual post-Christmas staff levels’. I also refer to comments by the ANZ senior economist, Katie Dean, who believes that the government’s stimulus package worked to retain jobs in January, in tandem with aggressive interest rate cuts. Michael Blythe, the Commonwealth Bank chief economist, said:

Policy is working in Australia. Lower interest rates and the first-home owners grant have lifted housing activity, and the pick-up in retail sales suggests the Government’s cash handouts have worked.

So you have the chief economists from the Commonwealth Bank, the ANZ Bank and Deutsche Bank, as well as leaders in the Australian commercial sector, from Woolworths, all pointing to the relative positive impact of December’s economic stimulus strategy on jobs and on overall sales; yet the only person who seems to be disputing its impact on jobs and sales is the Leader of the Opposition.

I would ask the Leader of the Opposition why, when he asks a question on this, the question is premised on the assumption that the opposition is opposed to this particular measure. When this was announced at the end of last year, the Leader of the Opposition said that he, the opposition, would be supporting it. On 14 October, when we released this, he said, ‘We are not going to argue about the composition of the package or quibble about it. It has our support.’ That was in October last year.

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order on relevance. The question was about this month’s cash splash. If I could just be helpful: I will not object on the grounds of relevance—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition knows that he can put his point of order but he cannot enter into a debate.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Those opposite and those observing the debate know precisely where this government stand: we support the economic stimulus strategy. Why? Because, although it cannot remove the impact of the global economic cyclone which is the global economic recession, it can cushion its impact on Australia—on families and on jobs here. We know where we stand on this, but where does the Liberal Party stand? When these measures were introduced, the Leader of the Opposition said:

We support these measures and we are particularly pleased about the measure, the payments to pensioners.

That was last year. Is the Leader of the Opposition now saying—today, in March—that he opposed the payment to pensioners?

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He mysteriously finds himself buried in his notes. Then we had this question: ‘What do you think of the housing measures?’ The response from the Leader of the Opposition was: ‘Well, we support it.’ Does the Leader of the Opposition oppose the trebling of the first home owners bonus?

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, under the standing order dealing with relevance: the Prime Minister was asked a question about detailing where the jobs are being created from in this $13 billion cash splash that is following up the cash splash in February.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Sturt will resume his seat. The Prime Minister is responding to the question.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If the Manager of Opposition Business had listened to my earlier answer concerning the impact of the economic stimulus strategy on jobs in the retail sector, including the quotes from those who lead in the retail sector, he would understand its impact on jobs, which was the question I was asked.

Then, on family payments, the Leader of the Opposition was asked again—last October—about this, and he said:

I think there are certainly people that have won a lot more than others, but again our position, Charles—

this is Charles Wooley—

was, in the spirit of the times, we give the Government our support on this.

That was an eternity ago; that was three months ago. Now we have the Leader of the Opposition saying that his position is entirely the reverse of that. Is it any wonder that here we are at 10 minutes past two, on this day—when industrial relations legislation is about to pass through the Senate—and nobody knows where the Liberal Party stand on industrial relations and the future of Work Choices, because nobody knows where they stand on the economic stimulus strategy, because they make it up as they go along. I would ask the Leader of the Opposition to come clean with the Australian people and tell them whether he supports or opposes these payments—depending on which day of the week it is.