Transcript No. 2001/053

TRANSCRIPT

Treasurer

(Inaudible).

I think that there is a real atmosphere of celebration in Melbourne at the moment. You

would have seen from those kids that they understand Federation, they are excited by it,

they are doing projects on it. I think the number of people that have been in Melbourne

add a great deal of glamour and excitement to the city and I think there is quite an

interest in Federation and it will come to a height this afternoon.

Alright. And secondly, the NAB, was very soft, it appears things haven’t bottomed

as we might have thought?

Look, you get different business surveys, but I think the most important economic

information this week was the retail trade, which for the March quarter was quite strong –

1.9 per cent. And that will make a healthy contribution to growth in the March quarter.

And I have a feeling that with supportive monetary policy, we have now had a number of

interest rate cuts, that will be returning a lot of confidence to consumers and business.

Thanks.