Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Treasurer, Senator Sherry. Can the Assistant Treasurer inform the Senate about the latest international efforts to fight the global recession, especially in the light of today’s address by the US President, Barack Obama, marking the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. investment bank?

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you to my colleague Senator Polley. The American President, Mr Obama, has delivered a strong reminder, for those who needed it, that the job of rebuilding the global economy as a consequence of last year’s events—the global financial and economic crisis; the worst economic crisis in some 75 years—is far from over. Unfortunately, those opposite—the Liberal and National parties—have seen a few green shoots and they think they have seen a jungle.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

They laugh and they scoff in the same way they skated their way through last year with a very negative attitude to the decisive actions taken by the Rudd Labor government: to the guarantee, to the stimulus packages and to a range of other actions that were absolutely necessary to prevent Australia, like the rest of the world, plunging into a very deep recession—certainly the worst since the Great Depression.

As US President Obama has pointed out, some $5 trillion of Americans’ household wealth has evaporated in this global financial crisis. He said:

There will be those who engage in revisionist history or have selective memories and don’t seem to recall what we just went through last year.

I know he was not referring to the Liberal and National parties but I could not think of a more appropriate comparison. The Liberal and National parties have absolutely no appreciation of the level of seriousness—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Certainly, the leader, in the case of the National Party—going by those polls of today. If anyone is in the jungle it is certainly him. (Time expired)

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I have a supplementary question for the Assistant Treasurer. Does the Australian government intend to maintain the economic policies and measures that it has implemented in the past year, which have been so effective in cushioning Australia from the worst effects of the global recession? Are there any creditable alternatives?

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I have indicated on a couple of occasions, despite the comparatively good growth of the Australian economy—the only advanced economy in the world to have growth of some 0.6 per cent—it is way short of what is required to prevent unemployment going up. You need at least three per cent growth to ensure that unemployment will not rise. So we know that, even with a comparatively well-performing economy with economic growth of 0.6 per cent, unemployment will rise over the next year due to the financial and economic crisis. Yet we have those opposite in the Liberal and National parties advocating that we should abandon our stimulus measures. I make the point very strongly that 0.6 per cent growth will not deliver employment growth. You need at least three per cent, yet those opposite are effectively arguing for higher unemployment.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the Assistant Treasurer inform the Senate what the greatest challenges are in achieving sustainable recovery? How long will the near collapse of the world financial system continue to adversely affect global and Australian economies?

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I have said, whilst we have outperformed the rest of the world in terms of economic growth there are significant challenges ahead. We are certainly not out of the woods yet. One of the greatest challenges will be in job creation. Unfortunately, as I have said, jobs are the last things that those opposite have thought about in the context of this recession.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was 3.9 per cent. What was it under you?

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Abetz is interjecting. Again he displays a total ignorance of the events of the world financial and economic crisis. He refuses, like those opposite, to understand that if it had not been for the decisive interventions of the Rudd Labor government over the last year unemployment would reach 10 per cent.

Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Finance, Competition Policy and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So why is it so much higher in the United States?

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, I know it is certainly—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The time for debating this is at the end of question time. Senator Sherry, continue your remarks to the chair.

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. What I do notice about the United States is that they have one of the most ‘liberal’ labour markets in the world, and amongst the highest unemployment. (Time expired)