Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

The senator should note that the average real growth in payments over the four years of the forward estimates is 1.1 per cent. The last time I looked, that is below two per cent. That compares very favourably with the 3.6 per cent average annual real growth in payments, which was the case for the last four years of the Howard government. While I am at it, I would remind the senator that, despite his rhetoric, we are also a lower taxing government. The level of tax to GDP that we inherited was significantly larger than that projected for this year and over the budget estimate period. I know the opposition do not like the facts to get in the way of their chants—they are very good at chanting—but the chants happen to be based on things that are simply not true.