Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer update the House on what today's economic data says about the resilience of our economy and the importance of government, business and community working together to support it?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Parramatta for her interest in the economy. We know our economy has taken a very significant hit from this summer's natural disasters, but we know that it has not been knocked off its long-term course. The good news is that mines are reopening and affected communities are getting back on their feet, as is our economy. We can see that in the data today. Australia recorded another trade surplus in April and thermal coal volumes out of Queensland have bounced back after recent flooding. Coal export values rose 1.4 per cent in April and they are now up almost 16 per cent over the past two months. Iron ore and metal exports rose 3.8 per cent in April and they are now up 23 per cent over the past two months. We saw the retail sales figures today and they are up by a strong 1.1 per cent in April—that is the biggest monthly increase in 17 months. So I think we can all be proud of what Australians have done. The business community has been working together with the unions and the wider community, and we have really pulled together in the face of adversity.

The way in which everyone pulled together was very much evident in Queensland during the floods. Of course, that is what we did during the global recession. That is what we did in the worst economic conditions in 75 years and Australia emerged from that as virtually the only advanced economy to avoid a recession. That has been very important because it has been that strength which has stood us in such good stead. We are still working in Queensland to rebuild that state, including restoring and recovering over 6,600 kilometres of the state road network and over 4,400 kilometres of the Queensland rail network.

Our focus has to be on getting the fundamentals right and bringing the budget back to surplus in 2012-13 so that we do not compound the price pressures which will flow from the very strong investment pipeline. It also means that we have to make the investment in a bigger workforce and a better trained workforce. We have to continue to invest in critical infrastructure and, of course, we have to put a price on carbon if we are going to lock-in our future prosperity.

Now, all of these things could have been very different if those opposite had been in charge during this period. They did not recognise the threat of the global recession. The shadow Treasurer described it as a hiccup—the worst event in the global economy since the Great Depression was just a hiccup! We heard the shadow Treasurer just yesterday say that the impact of the floods in Queensland and more widely was simply a cough in the mining boom. They have not a clue about the human dimensions of these events and no concern for the fate of all of those communities. We on this side of the House understand the importance of rebuilding and the importance of investing, but those on that side of the House have no policy to come back to surplus, no policy for jobs and no policy to tackle climate change. It is little wonder that all of the colleagues of the shadow Treasurer do not think he is up to the job.

Andrew Southcott (Boothby, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Primary Healthcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to his claim that the contraction in the Australian economy in the first three months of the year was the result of natural disasters. Given that the state which contracted the most was South Australia, can the Treasurer inform the House which catastrophic natural disaster was responsible for the weakness in the South Australian economy?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have just heard yet another demonstration of the economic incompetence of all of those opposite. He wants to somehow pretend that the South Australian economy is not connected to the national economy. We have been in this House day after day, and we have seen baseless scare campaign after baseless scare campaign, but that question takes the cake. We had a contraction in the national economy of 1.2 per cent in the national accounts yesterday and that has hurt right around the country. Of course there are regional differences and we do have a patchwork economy, but anybody who knows about the national accounts will know that when you look at the state-by-state breakdowns they are volatile and you cannot just see them one quarter by one quarter. You cannot look at them like that, and nobody who is serious about economics even tries to look at them like that. But, we are absolutely serious on this side of the House about supporting the economy nationally and supporting it right around our country. And it was not the only state that went backwards on the quarterly figures. The fact is, we had a really hard hit and those on that side of the House want to ignore the fact it happened at all.

In his budget reply the Leader of the Opposition spoke in this House for 30 minutes and did not mention the single biggest economic event in our economy this year—and, in fact, as it turns out, in 30 years.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

The member for Higgins is warned.

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Within his analysis of the challenges he could not find—

Andrew Southcott (Boothby, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Primary Healthcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise on a point of order concerning relevance. I asked the Treasurer to identify the natural disaster in South Australia.

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

The member for Boothby will resume his seat. The Treasurer has the call.

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So those on that side of the House are in complete denial about the dramatic impact on our economy of the natural disasters that occurred earlier this year. The biggest natural disasters in Australia's history. The biggest economic effect in Australia's history. They produced a negative figure for our economy of 1.2 per cent in the quarter, and he wants to somehow pretend that it did not impact in South Australia or any other state. This is truly bizarre. They do not understand the basic economics of what is happening in our economy. How could they possibly run the country?