PM wanted to 'have a go' when GFC hit EARLY official briefings given to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd when the 2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis struck warned a recession in Australia was unavoidable. But Mr Rudd said he still wanted to "have a go" at avoiding a crippling downturn. So his Labor government took steps to plug the demand gap in the Australian economy through two stimulus packages and rolling out the better education revolution package. "In the Global Financial Crisis we dodged a bullet," Mr Rudd told the National Press Club in Canberra on Thursday. We didn't dodge a bullet by accident, we dodged a bullet because most of my cabinet colleagues that are here and others burnt the midnight oil for months on end in order to make sure we had the best possible response in order to avoid the possibility of recession. But he said he realised that because a recession didn't happen in Australia, a lot of people didn't work out what happened around the world. I don't blame them for that, because we live in Australia and you just observe the circumstances around you. But he said the dishonest fear campaign being managed by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and the coalition about debt and deficit "is wrong."