Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline to the House why we must arrest debt and reduce deficits by taking responsible fiscal decisions to balance the budget? Is the Treasurer aware of any alternative views?

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

I thank the member for Fairfax for his question. I congratulate him on his election to the House of Representatives to be here as part of a returned Turnbull coalition government after our success at the last election. We took to the election a plan for economic growth—a clear national plan for economic growth and jobs—that was endorsed by the Australian people, and they have sent us here for that purpose. This is a term of delivery, and that delivery has already commenced.

Today, the excessive surcharging for debit and credit cards ends. It is banned from today as a result of the actions of this Turnbull government. When consumers are going off and paying with their credit cards or debit cards, when they are going to the football final or something, those excessive card surcharges end today as a result of the delivery of this government.

There are tax cuts for small businesses in particular but also for households and ordinary wage earners. The bill for that was introduced to the parliament today as part of our economic plan, and we are getting on with delivery.

I am asked about the need to arrest the debt because that is the great challenge for this government and for this parliament. We must arrest this debt, which today stands at $430 billion because of the enormous debt burden that we inherited from those opposite. It was not bad enough to gift us the debt. In the last term they engaged in budget sabotage every single week, and we are seeing them doing the same thing as they come back at the start of this parliament seeking to disrupt the parliament and the delivery of this government's programs after our re-election. That sabotage has already cost the Australian people $10 billion in higher debt, as those opposite have delayed budget savings measures over the last three years. But they have an opportunity to fix that with the omnibus bill. The omnibus bill will deliver savings that will save us, in increased debt, $30 billion over the next 10 years. They have the opportunity to support those measures.

That is just the start, because we have $40 billion in budget improvement measures that we are putting before this parliament. All of those measures in the omnibus bill are measures those opposite put into their costings. They put them into their costings. But the former shadow minister for finance and the shadow Treasurer clearly did not tell all the rest of them, because now they seek to undermine them in supporting the measures they put to the Australian people.

What we know on this side is that higher taxes, higher debts and higher deficits are no road to prosperity, but that is the path that those opposite would seek to take this country on.