Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much for your wise words, and, of course, I'll take it, Deputy Speaker. I'll just move to the next part of the Treasurer's life. He has a productivity roundtable coming up. He's already made it very clear that he will put a ruler over the ideas that come to the roundtable on the principle that they be at least budget neutral but preferably budget positive. In other words, he is looking for more taxes to feed his spending spree. You do not make an economy more productive by raising taxes.

In contrast, as shadow Treasurer, I will put a ruler over the ideas at the roundtable on the principle that they be at most budget neutral. In other words, higher taxes will not be accepted. It is plausible, of course, that this productivity roundtable is nothing but a ruse by the Treasurer, who knows very well that he has lost control of the budget. He cannot put the spending spree down, and he wants to raise taxes. So he has got 25 people in a room to give him cover to raise taxes. We on this side of the House are not interested so much in 25 people but in 27 million Australians, and they are who we'll fight for.

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