Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I rise to condemn this treasurer for refusing to take responsibility for the government's out-of-control spending—spending that's fuelling inflation and keeping interest rates higher for longer. In Senate estimates, we saw the finance minister proudly spruiking $114 billion in so-called savings, but when pressed it became clear that these were not savings at all. They were simply reallocations: money taken from one government program and shifted to another. That's not savings; that's reshuffling the deckchairs.

At the same time, government spending is growing at four times the rate of the economy itself. That trajectory is simply not sustainable. In fact, the Treasurer's own budget papers show he's added $50 billion of new discretionary spending in this financial year alone. And who pays the price for this? It's Australian families, Australian individuals and Australian small businesses. Out-of-control spending is driving inflation, and higher inflation keeps interest rates higher than they otherwise would be. The average mortgage holder is now paying around $21,000 more per year in interest compared to under the previous government, and that burden could rise even further. This isn't abstract economics; this is real pressure on real household budgets.

Let's look at where their money is going. Interest payments on Commonwealth debt alone are now one of the largest line items in the Commonwealth budget. That should alarm every member of this House. Under Labor, spending has blown out from 24 per cent of GDP to 27 per cent, the highest level outside a recession in nearly 40 years. Labor's taken a blowtorch to the fiscal guardrails that responsible governments of both persuasions have respected for decades. Treasury officials have confirmed that there are no quantifiable fiscal rules guiding Labor's budgets. What does that mean? It means no measurable spending cap, no debt anchor, no clear path back to balance, no speed limit and no seatbelt, just a foot on the accelerator.

Since coming to office, Labor has added a $100 billion to the national debt. Debt is now on track to breach $1 trillion any day now and $1.2 trillion by the next election. Every single minute $50,000 of taxpayer money is burned just on paying interest on that debt. That's $72 million every day—$72 million that cannot go to hospitals, that cannot go to schools, that cannot go to essential services and that, at a time of increased threat, cannot go to Australia's defence. Instead, it goes to servicing the consequences of fiscal recklessness.

Let me be clear: responsible government spending on essential services is necessary. Programs like the age pension, like Medicare and like aged care are vital, but spending must be targeted, efficient and effective. What we're seeing instead is spending driven by political convenience and short-term interest, piling up debt with no regard for the generations who will ultimately foot the bill. That's why we call on the Treasurer to adopt clear, measurable budget rules, rules that restore discipline to the management of our nation's finances so that the people who come after us, our kids and future generations, are not burdened by the choices of today. We call on the Treasurer to adopt rules that ensure spending growth is sustainable, rules that anchor debt and rules that bring transparency and accountability back to the budget process. Without discipline there is no stability.

Australians are really hurting at the moment. They're hurting when they're running their businesses, they're hurting when they're paying the cost of groceries and they're hurting when they're paying the cost associated with raising a family. Without stability, Australian families across my electorate in McPherson, from Burleigh Heads to Currumbin to Coolangatta, will continue to pay the price for Labor's higher inflation, for higher interest rates and higher debt. It's time we reined in expenditure and put Australians and our future generations first.

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