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

That is the aim of our policy—not to restrain it with a burgeoning public sector. That is what this government is doing. That is our plan. We are interested in things that will ultimately see taxes fall in this country, not see taxes ever higher to chase ever higher levels of spending which it can never catch—and, as a result, you borrow more and more and more. That is why the government has credible measures in place to reduce government spending as a share of the economy in this country from 25.9 per cent this year to 25.3 per cent at the end of the forward estimates. This was reinforced in our midyear statement, and that midyear statement was well received by the rating agencies. Moody's said: 'Notwithstanding the fiscal challenges ahead, we expect the government's fiscal position to remain within a range consistent with its AAA rating. The MYEFO incorporates a realistic view of the fiscal implications of lower growth. The government's commitment to fiscal consolidation is evident in the projected narrowing in the fiscal deficits. The policy's focus on improving the government's fiscal position supports the sovereign's credit profile.' That is our plan. That is what we are doing. We are reducing the share of government as a share of the economy so we can let the private sector expand and continue the strong jobs growth that we have seen. We saw 300,000-plus jobs last year. What we have is job-intensive economic growth in this country. There are more jobs in every single inch of that growth we are achieving in these difficult circumstances.

Those opposite have a very different point of view. What they are saying is that, of all the big 'savings' measures—they call tax increases 'savings'—they have come up with $7.6 billion in higher taxes. But that does not even get them to the point of the almost $14 billion in new spending they have announced just since the budget. On top of that, there is some $30 billion in savings that we have put in place. They want to put spending back on the agenda and almost $13 billion in measures they continue to block.

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