Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to update the Senate on the OECD economic survey released yesterday, which overwhelmingly supports this government’s economic strategy. It is a report which provides yet another strong endorsement of this government’s approach to economic management. It attests to the strength of the Australian economy relative to other advanced economies in particular. It endorses the government’s disciplined fiscal strategy and strict fiscal rules, which will see the budget return to surplus more rapidly than any of the other major advanced economies, and supports the government’s policies to deal with the challenges of managing the second commodity boom, including taxation and superannuation reform and critical investments in skills and infrastructure.

This survey is timely. It reminds all of us that the Australian economy is one of the strongest and most resilient in the world. The OECD survey also backs the government’s stimulus package. It says:

The stimulus package was among the most effective in the OECD …

I remind senators that this was the stimulus package that the opposition did not believe we needed. Let us remember also that the OECD indicates that this helped Australia to avoid recession during what we know was the worst economic crisis in over half a century. We also know that that stimulus contributed to Australia’s currently low unemployment rate. Since this government came to office, more than 650,000 jobs have been created. I notice they are very silent on the other side. More than 650,000 jobs have been created. (Time expired)