Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I will take that interjection as well. What have we done? We kept this country out of a recession because of the global financial crisis. That is what we did. You did not face a global financial crisis. It has been wiped off the history of the country by the coalition as if the global financial crisis never happened.

We actually did something for the country. What you did was for your political position and trying to win votes. Even Senator Sinodinos accepts that. Senator Sinodinos was there when he called it 'a lucky dip'. The budget was a lucky dip under the coalition. It was about 'What can we dole out to what group who might vote for us?' It was not about economic credibility, and I always have a bit of a laugh when I hear them standing up here trying to defend the economic position of the Howard government.

You were economic incompetents. You were an economic rabble. You did nothing to build the future of this country. You did nothing for public schools in this country. The state school system was ignored. You did nothing on climate change even though you were supposed to be doing something, even though all the evidence before you was that something had to be done. For pure political reasons you did not deal with the big challenges for this nation. Why? Because you are economic incompetents and political pariahs in this country. That is what the coalition are. You have not got an economic brain in your head, so don't lecture us about economics. You were a failed government on economics. The history of this nation will make it clear you were economic failures.