Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

I am not altogether certain that there is much to be answered in that supplementary question. Frankly, there may well have been an invitation, which I will not be responding to. The simple fact of life is this: the Australian economy is facing difficulties and these are inherited difficulties that have come as a result of the failure of the previous government to face up to the simple facts of life when it came to the capacity constraints in the Australian economy, to eight interest rate rises in a row, to serious skills shortages that had been developing for quite some time and to its failure of will to actually deal with question of fiscal discipline.

It has been put that there is a particular difficulty with consumer confidence. By international standards, Australian conditions are very strong. The global credit crunch that we are now facing— (Time expired)