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

I was asked about the omnibus bill. The omnibus bill contains the measures that those opposite put in their forward estimates before the last election, and that is what I am referring to. Despite the fact that they had supported some $6 billion in savings, which are included in that bill, they went to the election claiming, in the fiscal summary they issued before the election, that the deficit would be no worse than $16.472 billion.

I have gone back to what the Parliamentary Budget Office actually reported after the election, and it turns out it was not quite as good as that. In fact, it was $16.6 billion. Those opposite, while they like to dwell on these matters, may wish to reflect on their own contributions to these issues. Going to the last election they said that they thought the best plan for Australia was to increase the deficit by $16.5 billion. They told the Australian people that. It turns out it was $16.6 billion, and there is a great and terrible risk of the approach that Labor was putting forward.

That is our view, but it is not just our view. Saul Eslake, an economist respected by those on that side of the House, said:

…it hardly seems sensible for a would-be Labor government to tolerate a significantly greater budget deficit over the next four years.

He also said, 'They are potentially risking the AAA credit rating if they outline significantly bigger deficits.' Now, that is exactly what they did.

Those opposite present a AAA threat to our economy, because they believe in higher taxes, higher spending and higher debt. The burden is on those opposite. Those savings are set out in that bill, which is the first of many bills that will come through this parliament that are designed to do one thing, arrest the debt. The Turnbull government is committed to arresting the debt that was left to us by those opposite, but those opposite have sat on that side of the House every single day and worked against us as we try to deal with the debt that they gifted to this government.

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