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

He could be scared. But this is an opportunity for the Treasurer, if he wants to get down here. He can have 10 free minutes talking about himself and showering himself with compliments, which he loves to do. To his staff, who are no doubt looking from his parliamentary office: can you drag him from the bathroom where he's looking at the mirror, blowing kisses to himself, and see if he can come and talk about the Australian economy. It was said that if one learns to love oneself, it begins a lifelong romance. I daresay the Treasurer, on that count, is probably the most romantic person in the parliament!

Yesterday, we had news on inflation. Inflation hit the highest rate it has in about 2½ years, which speaks to the pain felt by Australian households and dashes hope for those who were looking to next week's RBA meeting in the hope that they might get a cut in their interest rates. I thought I'd do the right thing on behalf of the parliament, and the Australian people, and ask the Treasurer a question about the inflation rate. You know what he did? He didn't even address it. He talked about himself. I've taken this from Hansard. He said that he takes credit 'when things go well in the economy'. When things go well in the economy, the Treasurer takes credit. He also said that he takes credit 'when inflation comes down'. But yesterday inflation did not come down; inflation went up, to 1.3 per cent over the September quarter. That's 3.2 per cent over the year. This breaches the band of the Reserve Bank of Australia. This exceeded the forecast. This was an absolute miss from what was expected, and it spells trouble for Australians.

This surge in inflation that we saw yesterday, as the ABS delivered the data, is a direct consequence of the Treasurer's spending spree. You only have to look at the data to see that this government is spending out of control. This is the highest-spending government in 40 years outside recession—40 years. This government has lifted spending as a percentage of GDP from 24 per cent to 27 per cent. And, this financial year alone, Labor is spending an additional $160 billion compared with the coalition's last budget—$160 billion. On a household level, that equates to about $16½ thousand extra that this government is spending.

What have we got to show for it? Well, a poorer country, a weaker country, and a country that's becoming more dependent on foreign supply chains. I don't know whether you know this, Deputy Speaker, but government spending is growing at four times the pace of the Australian economy. That says it all. When it comes to debt, as a result of this government's spending, an extra $100 billion has been added to the national credit card. So debt's going to hit $1.2 trillion by the time of the next election. And this government will pretend that that's fine. But if you think of the children of Australia, if you think of those who are yet to be born and will be citizens of this country, they are the ones who will have to pay for your spending spree. They're the ones who are indebted. Every single minute that goes by, $50,000 gets paid on Labor's debt—$1.2 trillion.

Government members interjecting—

The MPs can laugh, but we are talking about the next generation. You are saddling them with debt. This is more than just an economic argument. There is a moral obligation on those who are in charge of the treasury benches to not saddle the next generation with debt. So, scoff all you like, as a Labor government, but it is the next generation of Australians that the coalition is defending.

It might be fair enough to ask, how is it that this government has decided to just go and spend? Well, the government have been the beneficiaries of the greatest revenue windfall in the history of Australia: $400 billion. A responsible government would not have done what the Treasurer did—put his hand in the cookie jar and baked more spending into his budget. The problem is, once the windfall is over, you've baked in more spending, which is why now we have a problem. Not only is this government racking up up to $1.2 trillion in debt but its own plan is another decade of deficits. And people keep paying for this. As you spend more, as you pour more money into the economy, prices rise. That's what we saw in yesterday's figures. It is why the Australian people are the ones who pay. Money is not free. If you rack up debt, if you run deficits, it comes at a cost, and it's the Australian people who pay. They know they pay when they go to the supermarket. Food prices are up by 15 per cent. Australians know they pay when they pay their education fees. Education is up by 17 per cent. They know they pay when they look at housing prices and rents—up by 17 and 19 per cent, respectively. Australians know they pay for Labor's spending spree because insurance costs are up by 37 per cent. There's one thing Australians really know they pay for, and that's Labor's electricity bills. I don't know if you're aware of this, but Labor actually went to the election, before, promising a $275 reduction in household power bills. Bills are up over a thousand dollars. In fact, electricity prices have gone up 39 per cent under this government; gas, 38 per cent.

These are the real-life consequences of Labor's spending spree. When you are in the supermarket next and you're saying, 'My Lord, the prices have gone up,' that is due to the Treasurer's spending spree. When you can't pay the school fees, that is due to the Treasurer's spending spree. When you see that you, as an average mortgage holder, are paying an additional $1,800 a month in interest payments, that is due to the Treasurer's spending spree.

But, in the absence of a revenue windfall, what do you think the Treasurer can now do? There's only one thing he's now thinking about. It starts with T. It's a three-letter word: T-A-X—tax. We have the Treasurer now gunning for tax. We knew that, because the only plan he had was to tax unrealised capital gains, and I invite all those Labor members who thought that was a good idea just to stand in their places or give us a wave. Whoopsie-daisy! He didn't have much support for that—the taxation of unrealised capital gains. No wonder he got completely rolled. But, as a result, of course, he's got a black hole of about $20 billion. And you can be sure of one thing: he's coming after you. He's coming after you with more taxes. We are talking about not just Sir Taxalot but King Taxalot.

See this speech in context