Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Why was net debt of 13 per cent of GDP a 'debt and deficit disaster' but net debt of 50 to 60 per cent of GDP a 'pretty good result'?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I call the honourable Treasurer.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It might come as a surprise to the member for McMahon, but under the legacy left by the Labor Party we were left with a trajectory of debt that was clearly unsustainable. Spending growth up to 2055 was going to be well over a third of the Australian economy. What we have done is halve that trajectory. In our first budget we halved the amount of net debt that is going to exist in 2055, the middle of this century. We halved it, and that was a significant achievement. But there is much more to be done, and the people standing in the way of that action are the Australian Labor Party, because the Australian Labor Party created the mess. And we are determined to fix it, because we must. As the Prime Minister has said repeatedly, in our first budget we were trying to fix 40 years of looming problems created by the Australian Labor Party in just six years of government. That was the challenge for us. And yes, it was a significant challenge. It was a great mountain to climb. We did not get there, but we started the climb, because it is absolutely essential for the future of Australia that we get to the point where we as a nation live within our means. That is the compact between the generations that we talk about in the Intergenerational reportabout making sure, as we stand on the shoulders of generations that have made sacrifices before us, that the children who follow us have a better quality of life and that we are not leaving them with a legacy of debt and deficit that is unsustainable into the future.

So, we are being entirely responsible. And who would have thought, when we framed the budget last year, that Labor would be so audacious not only to oppose what we were trying to do to fix the mess that they created but also to oppose what the Labor Party themselves proposed to do to fix the mess that they created—$5 billion of their own proposed savings they are cynically opposing in the Senate. And they are opposing another $30 billion of savings, and at some time in the future someone—whether it is a Liberal government, a National government or a Labor government—is going to have to make the hard decisions that get Australia to the point where we live within our means. So, this government makes no apology whatsoever for doing what is absolutely right for the Australian people, and we will disregard the cynicism of the Labor Party.