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

I thank the member for Brisbane for his question and for his background in economics. He knows very well the importance of ensuring that we return the budget to surplus and that we continue to implement policies that grow the economy so you can lift revenues through jobs and people being able to get increased hours of work, and that is why we are progressing with our enterprise tax plan. Since the last election, the government has secured $20 billion and more in budget improvement measures passed through this place and the other place. That is a significant rate of progress that we have been able to achieve in implementing the budget measures that we took to the last election and announced in our budget in May and in the carry forward of measures that we have been pursuing, in some cases, for three years. In addition to that, we have seen real growth in expenditure reduced from some 4.2 per cent under the budgets of those opposite. Under the budgets of this coalition, starting with Treasurer Hockey and me, we have been able to get that real growth in expenditure down to 1.6 per cent. It has fallen from 4.2 per cent down to 1.6 per cent. Slowing the growth in expenditure is enabling us to get back on a trajectory to come to a balance in 2021 based on the current projections.

The warning that we have received from the ratings agencies is a warning that has been applied to this entire parliament, and that warning is to pursue and implement and pass the savings and revenue measures that the government have put in the budget to ensure that the trajectory and projection for return to a balance is achieved. Now, that is a very sober warning for those who sit opposite, and for the states' house in the other place, because it is incredibly important that if these measures are not passed, then the AAA credit rating of this country will be at risk. And if those opposite want to play Russian roulette with Australia's AAA credit rating by refusing the budget measures—

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