“Lindsay Tanner admitted this morning that interest rates under Labor should never have reached 17 per cent but then, in typical Labor style, fobs off responsibility for this claiming that it was too long ago to count” the Minister for Revenue and Assitant Treasurer, Peter Dutton said today.
“For the ALP to try and downplay their poor handling of the economy by claiming that interest rates were 17 per cent for ONLY 10 months out of their thirteen years in office just shows how much they would like to forget the lasting pain and damage this caused ordinary Australian families and businesses.
“Australian families remember not just those ten months of 17 per cent interest rates, but a record unemployment rate of 10.9 per cent, inflation peaking at 11.1 per cent, and a country being crippled by having to carry a record $96 billion dollars of debt.
“Australians remember the ten years of economic mismanagement that created the climate for the ‘recession we had to have’. Mr Tanner seems to think that even ten months at 17 per cent is reasonable but fails to remember this was the straw that broke the back of many families and businesses across this country.
“Labor likes to think one-off actions, such as cutting and running from Iraq just to save money, are a substitute for thorough and consistent economic management.
“Mr Tanner’s comments this morning just show how little Labor have understood the lasting damage they caused Australian families and businesses when they had their chance.