In Italy, according to our estimates, they have helped to buoy output by at least two and a half percentage points over that span. Our estimates, however, cannot measure the effects of the financial collapse that could have occurred in the absence of these interventions, with disastrous consequences for the national and European economies.
And yet the Australian economy avoided a major downturn and turned in a performance on economic activity characterised by no more, and on some metrics slightly less, volatility. We have achieved the inflation target and with an average unemployment rate of between 5 and 6 per cent.