House debates Questions without Notice

Energy Security Fund

Thursday, 22 March 2012 House of Representatives

Warren Truss

Warren Truss Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals

2:09 pm

My question is to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to the Energy Security Fund program, which has been allocated funding of $1 billion in 2011, over $1 billion in 2013 and $1 billion again in 2014, but only $1 million in 2012. How does the Treasurer explain this astonishing decrease in expenditure for the program in the 2012-13 financial year? Does this confirm that the surplus in 2012-13 is just a clayton's surplus?

Peter Slipper

Peter Slipper Speaker

The Leader of the Nationals should be careful not to include argument in his question, but I will allow it.

Wayne Swan

Wayne Swan Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer

2:10 pm

What it confirms is that the government has put in place responsible arrangements to bring the budget back to surplus in 2012-13. The irony of getting a question about the surplus and a profile of spending from a crew that have a $70 billion crater in their budget bottom line!

Peter Slipper

Peter Slipper Speaker

The Treasurer is aware that he is not being relevant. He will become relevant.

Wayne Swan

Wayne Swan Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer

Mr Speaker, it was a question about our surplus and it was a question about the profile of a particular piece of expenditure across the forward estimates. What I am saying is that we have strict fiscal discipline, which is bringing our budget back to surplus. That stands in stark contrast to those opposite, who have a $70 billion crater in their budget bottom line. To fill that crater they want to put up company taxes by 1½ per cent.

Peter Slipper

Peter Slipper Speaker

The Treasurer is not to contrast; he has to focus on the substance of the question. The Treasurer has concluded.