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

My question is to the Treasurer. The former Treasury Secretary, Ken Henry, recently said on the ABC's 7.30 that more than half of the budget deterioration is because of falling revenue. Does the Treasurer agree with Dr Henry's assessment?

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes or no.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remind the member for Sydney she has been warned.

Mr Bowen interjecting—

The member for McMahon has asked his question. He will cease interjecting.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Those opposite are asking me questions about revenue. I know those opposite are very interested in the revenue figure. They are terribly interested in the revenue figure, because those opposite believe that the way you strengthen the budget, the way you balance the budget, is you increase taxes. That is what they think over there. They think the way to address the country's budget challenges is to pull more money out of the pockets of Australian taxpayers, that you need to tax businesses more, that you need to tax the savings of people more. They think the answer to the nation's economic problems is to increase taxes.

Even given the revenue position that we have today, at around 24 per cent, if the level of expenditure to GDP was exactly what those opposite inherited when they went into government, which was 23.1 per cent, we would be in surplus today—if they simply kept expenditure to GDP at the level they inherited. Even on the reduced revenue figures as a percentage of GDP today, we would be in surplus. That is where we would be. So those opposite I know are very focused on the revenue issue.

When we think about revenue, we think about how we are going to grow the economy, how we are going to increase the amount of money that Australians can earn and that businesses can earn. The way we do that is through the free trade agreements, which will ensure we are going to earn more as a country. Those opposite had the best commodity prices of all time. They had the best of all time, but they drove our budget into dire deficit and they put this country into a debt legacy that will take a generation to pay off. The reason they did that is that they always believe that you can spend taxpayers' money like there is no tomorrow, because you can always raise taxes to pay it off.