Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer update the House on Australia's progress in reducing the deficit, arresting debt and protecting Australia's AAA credit rating? How does a strong budget support a growing economy that creates new jobs and lifts real wages for hardworking Australians?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bonner for his question and for his commitment, along with the commitment of all those on this side of the House who are doing everything we can to ensure Australia's is in the strongest possible fiscal position to ensure that we retain the AAA credit rating for this country. That is why in our budget we brought down both savings and revenue measures, but particularly savings. The vast majority of those are in savings on payments measures to ensure that the budget could return to balance. The projection for that is for it to return to balance in 2021.

So far, since the election of the coalition government in 2013, under former Prime Minister Abbott and Prime Minister Turnbull, we have been able to cut the real growth in expenditure from 4.2 per cent—where it was when those opposite, the Labor Party, sat on the Treasury's benches—down to 1.6 per cent. That is a dramatic reduction in the growth in real expenditure, which is the way that you get your budget under control. In addition, we have had success not just in putting these measures as part of our budget plan that we took to the last election but also in these measures being legislated through this parliament, with more than $20 million already legislated through this place and the other place—all demonstrating the effectiveness of this government to work with the 45th Parliament to get the job done.

There are alternatives to that, and I understand that the shadow Treasurer said today:

What we do—

referring to the Labor Party—

is we announce our policies as we go. And what we do is we make sure our bottom line is better than the government's. If you look at our policy announcements in total, our bottom line is better than the government's.

So I thought I would have a look at their bottom line, as per the Parliamentary Budget Office and what they took to the last election. They said that they were going to increase taxes by $13.9 billion. I know how excited they are about taxes, and that is a high level of excitement—$13.9 billion in extra taxes on the Australian people; $100 billion in more taxes over the next 10 years. But they also wanted to increase spending by $30 billion. So the net position that they took to the last election, when you add the public debt interest onto those expenditure figures, is $16.6 billion in a higher deficit.

Those opposite think that a higher deficit, higher taxes and higher debt is the way to protect our AAA credit rating. Those opposite are a AAA threat to our AAA credit rating, because their fiscal policies just do not add up. Their addiction to higher spending and their addiction to higher taxes result in an addiction to higher deficits and higher debt. That is not the way to bring our budget back to balance. I ask those opposite to support the government's economic plan for fiscal repair that we are putting through this parliament and stop blocking it. (Time expired)