Gabriel Ng (Menzies, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak against this motion. Those opposite desperately try to cling to the fantasy that they are the better economic managers because they have nothing else to offer the Australian people than an outdated fiction. The reality is this: if you are looking for the party of good economic management, look no further than the Labor Party. The Hawke and Keating governments built the modern, open Australian economy. The Rudd government steered Australia through the global financial crisis, and the Albanese Labor government has navigated Australia through an international inflation crisis, keeping unemployment low, increasing wages and delivering cost-of-living relief, all while better managing the budget.

It is rich that the member for Casey would bring this motion forward when his party in government completely failed to reduce debt while cutting essential services that effected many Australians. The irony is that the rules set out by our predecessors were not worth the paper they were written on, because not once did the Liberals follow their own rules. The member for Casey refers to fiscal rules which the previous coalition governments broke time and time again. They said they would deliver a surplus. They went none from nine—doughnuts! In contrast, we have delivered back-to-back surpluses in our first term, the first government to do so in two decades. We improved the fiscal outlook by $209 billion compared to what we inherited in our first term, the biggest budget turn around in a parliamentary term in history. They said they would offset spending. Four out of five times they didn't.

They said they'd bank revenue upgrades. They kept only 40 per cent. We have banked almost 70 per cent of revenue upgrades since coming to office, reducing debt and interest payments. They said they'd cut the payments-to-GDP ratio. It went up even before the pandemic hit. They said they'd rein in debt; instead, they almost doubled it. We reduced debt by $188 billion last year. It is now projected to peak at around 37 per cent of GDP compared to the 45 per cent peak projected under the coalition government.

Since coming to government, we have found $100 billion in savings. In their final budget, those opposite delivered none. The Albanese Labor government is managing the budget responsibly, and we will not take lectures from those whose record speaks for itself.

Of course, good economic management isn't just about how we manage the budget; it's about what we do with it. At the last election, those opposite ran an out-of-touch platform of taxpayer funded lunches for bosses, restricting working from home, scrapping the Public Service and a taxpayer funded nuclear fantasy that would drive power prices up. Australians, and the people of Menzies, endorsed our investments in Medicare, in mental health, in fully and fairly funded public schools and in cost-of-living relief. Not only are we better at managing the budget, but we've ensured that we have an economy that works for everyday Australians. The fact is, when we came to office inflation was rising, and interest rates were rising too; real wages and living standards were falling; and debt and deficit stretched as far as the eye could see.

Under Labor, we have made real progress in the economy and in the budget. We've brought inflation down from a number with a six in front of it to a number with a two in front of it. It is now around four-year lows. Annual real wages have been growing for seven consecutive quarters. Interest rates have been cut three times in six months. More than 1.1 million jobs have been created since we came to government—a record for any government in its first term. The average unemployment rate is the lowest of any government in 50 years.

We've navigated the Australian economy through tough times, and we've done it while growing wages and keeping unemployment low. Because of the Albanese Labor government, more Australians are in work, earning better wages and paying less on their mortgages.

We know the job isn't finished. Australians are still feeling the pressure, and we're going to keep working to make sure the relief is reaching them. We are delivering real, practical and ongoing help with the cost of living, energy bill relief, reducing student debt by 20 per cent and tax cuts for every Australian—one last year, one this year and one next year. (Time expired)

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