Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Forshaw for the question. As government senators would be aware, we are in a time of very uncertain economic conditions. The shocks to the global economy have, I think, created doubts about the future economically. It is a time when we certainly need steady and responsible financial management. Certainly this government sought to provide that leadership and that fiscal responsibility in its budget in May and, as part of that, the government sought to have a surplus of $22 billion, a significant surplus which was designed to buffer the Australian economy against those international factors and to ensure our capacity to fight inflation and put downward pressure on interest rates. We regard it as our main priority to assist Australian families by fighting inflation, trying to overcome the Liberal legacy of high inflation, and trying to overcome the Liberal legacy of 10 interest rate rises in a row.

The budget surplus is designed to assist Australian pensioners and Australian families in fighting inflation, which so corrodes their purchasing power and so corrodes their standard of living. It was a strategy which was widely endorsed in economic circles. They said it was a responsible budget because it provided the sort of buffer and security that was necessary for the economy.

Mr President, as you are aware, this morning, after last night’s debacle where the opposition could not successfully vandalise—