Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

I am glad that they are interjecting, because I know that this hurts. I know that they have been exposed as telling the Australian public an untruth about their performance. It is an untruth because we all know that, if the Chinese economy were not booming and if the mining sector were not booming, the money would not be there for the sorts of things which we heard described by one of the ministers opposite as ‘largesse’—the government’s performance in spending money was actually ‘largesse’. That was the word used by a government minister. If anyone else says something is largesse, never let the government say that it is wrong, because that was the word used by a government minister.

The mining boom is clearly a matter which is responsible for the best terms of trade we have ever had. The terms of trade reached their highest level in over 50 years in the December quarter. The recent strength in the terms of trade has predominantly been driven by non-rural commodity export prices, which rose by 67 per cent over the past two years. The aggregate increase was dominated by large rises in the price of iron ore and coal, as well as mineral fuels, gold and metals. That is from Budget Paper No. 3. It is the Treasurer’s own paper that proves that this government’s economic performance rests substantially, if not entirely, on the minerals boom. The fact that the Treasurer is trying to walk away from it proves that this Treasurer is not prepared to be truthful with the Australian public about the benefits that they are receiving—the ‘largesse’ that they are receiving from this government is designed for one thing, and that is the government’s own re-election.