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

I was diverted by the interjection and the point of order by the Manager of Opposition Business. But, as I was explaining to those opposite, the forecasts in the budget, which include the wage forecasts, combine with all the other forecasts in the budget to make an assessment of revenue estimates upon which we base our spending decisions. This may come as a mystery to those opposite but that's called responsible financial management. It's what our government does, and that's why our revenue estimates have always proved to be quite conservative. That means we don't spend money that's not there. We don't do that. We make our spending decisions carefully and to deal with the circumstances we're faced with as a government.

What we have done as a government over the course of this pandemic is stepped up to ensure that the Australian economy has performed like few others in the world. That may have escaped the notice of the Leader of the Opposition and the Labor Party, but I know Australians like the fact that they're back in work. The people that have achieved that are Australians, and we'll keep backing them in—and we'll back them in again tonight. (Time expired)

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