Matt Thistlethwaite (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

A falsehood, Senator Brandis. I draw your attention to the comments of Andrew Robb on Meet the Press on 4 September 2011, when he was asked a question by the interviewer, Fran Kelly, about that figure of $70 billion. The interview reads:

FRAN KELLY: It's not like a furphy, then?

ANDREW ROBB: No, it's not a furphy. We came out with the figure, right? So it is a furphy to call it a 'black hole'. That is just—it's just Labor's spin again to avoid any discussion about why we are looking at $70 billion as the sort of out-marker.

There is an admission there from Andrew Robb that a $70 billion black hole exists in the opposition's costings, because of $70 billion worth of reckless unfunded election commitments.

What does this mean for the Australian public? It means that they face the prospect of $70 billion worth of cuts to services. Yet, the opposition will not come clean with the Australian public. I have asked several of their representatives in public forums: 'What programs do you intend to cut to achieve a budget surplus? Is Medicare on the line? Is the childcare rebate on the line? Are the increases to pensions on the line? Indeed, is the reduction in the company tax rate that Labor has promised to deliver to businesses throughout this country on the line?' And they seek to criticise us for our fiscal strategy.

I mentioned earlier the importance of fiscal transparency. This government is acting on the advice of a unanimous report of the Joint Select Committee on the Parliamentary Budget Office on the establishment of a parliamentary budget office. This important reform will provide greater transparency in policymaking and ensure that the Australian people are better informed and have confidence in the commitments that are made by political parties in the lead-up to an election. These commitments will be independently assessed by a body to ensure that the Australian people can have confidence in them.

Bear in mind what I said about the importance of transparency, because only yesterday the shadow Treasurer, Joe Hockey, said in the parliament:

... the coalition will not submit its policy costings to either the Treasury or the PBO prior to the election.

And the opposition come in here and seek to criticise the government for its record on fiscal management—this from those who refuse to acknowledge the strong performance of our economy over recent years; this from those who continue to make irresponsible spending commitments that are underfunded; this from those who refuse to tell the Australian people how they will return the budget to surplus and what programs they will cut.

The Gillard government has a sound fiscal strategy and a plan to return our economy to surplus in 2012-13. It is a plan that has delivered protection for workers during the global financial crisis—the protection of 200,000 jobs—continued growth in our economy, a wonderful pipeline of investment in business and a process for transitioning our economy into a clean energy future. It is a plan based on transparency and openness that will provide confidence to the Australian people.