Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would be happy to give you the time, if you were going to sing to us. I am glad that we did get one useful piece of information out of that contribution, which is that, apparently, wood is the gift you give for the fifth anniversary. I will keep that in mind because that will come in useful for me. Senator Mason posed the question to us: is Australia better off after Labor government economic management? Have a listen to this, Senator Mason. This country has now had 21 years of consecutive economic growth, an achievement that leaves every other major advanced economy in our wake. Our economy is in a league of its own. It is an economy that is 11 per cent larger since Labor came to office, despite the worst global conditions since the Great Depression.

We have impressive growth, with our economy growing faster than every single major advanced economy. We have low unemployment at a rate of 5.4 per cent, which is about half the rate seen in Europe and significantly below other advanced economies. You ask those Australians whom we saved from unemployment through the stimulus that we took through the global financial crisis whether Australia is better off, and the answer is a resounding yes. Anyone who bothers to actually look at the facts and not be leading some evangelical sermon from opposition will come to the same conclusion.

We have an exceptional job creation record, with over 800,000 jobs having been created since Labor came to office, despite 27 million jobs lost worldwide. Worldwide, 27 million jobs lost; Australia, 800,000 new jobs created. Inflation is at a 13-year low, with underlying inflation at the bottom end of the RBA's target band of two per cent through to the year ended in June. What is the cash rate? It is sitting now at 3.25 per cent. Interest rates for Australians at 3.25 per cent, at the official cash rate. That is lower than at any time under the coalition.

We have a huge investment pipeline, with a record $260 billion at an advanced stage, helping to boost the productive capacity of our economy. We have healthy consumption, with a growth rate of around four per cent throughout this year. We have very, very low debt. Our net debt as a percentage of GDP is peaking at around a tenth of the level of major advanced economies. This is what John Howard had to say about our economy at the coalition convention in 2000:

The economic reform record of this government—

He is speaking of his government—

is one that has won acclaim not only here, but around the world. The lower rates of inflation, the consistently high growth, the capacity to stare down the Asian economic downturn … is a great record of reform.

Never mind the Asian economic downturn. Compared with when former Prime Minister John Howard gave that speech in 2000, and amidst the most hostile economic achievement in recent memory, this government has a lower unemployment rate than when John Howard bragged about the economy in 2000.

We have a lower cash rate than when John Howard bragged about the economy. We have lower inflation now—1½ per cent lower—than when John Howard bragged about the economy back in 2000. And we have higher annual economic growth, around two to 2½ per cent higher, than when John Howard, the former Prime Minister, bragged about the economy in those positions. So by any measure, if you want to compare the state of the economy now and the state of the economy back when John Howard was the Prime Minister, we tick every single box. If you want to look at our record on creating jobs and saving jobs, you only have to look at this government as the envy of the rest of the world. (Time expired)