Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I also make this point: the intellectual cul-de-sac the minister made reference to is, I think, the government's. The intellectual cul-de-sac comes from saying, 'We do not believe that more debt is the answer to debt,' and then coming along and saying, 'but more debt is the answer if it is us proposing it.' That is probably not an intellectual cul-de-sac, it is just rank hypocrisy, isn't it, or misleading the Australian people, however you would like to describe it? That is what we are debating here. We are debating a government that said before the election, 'The answer to debt is not more debt,' and who now says, ' but the answer to debt is more of our debt.'

I come back to the budget emergency point. The government wants to talk about a budget emergency because they need the political impetus and justification and excuse for what they will plan to do after the commission for cuts. That is the reality. But again, I make this point. You can look at the economic data; you can look at the fact that under our government our economy grew from, I think, the 15th to the 12th largest economy in the world; and you could look at the state of our public finances. You can look at our unemployment rate as compared with many other advanced economies, and you can look at how Australia avoided a recession, which unfortunately was faced and experienced by too many advanced economies around the globe. But I make this point: one of the things that this minister, the Treasurer, and other ministers in the government have flagged is more government financing or government support for more infrastructure spending. If there were a budget emergency, they could not possibly flag that. You could not contemplate that. The only reason you can contemplate either more borrowing or a public guarantee for infrastructure projects is because of the strength of Australia's public finances. The only reason that you can come in here and argue for no limit on debt, is also, frankly, because of the strength of Australia's public finances.

I would make this point. I said on Thursday—I made the point when this was last debated—when I referenced Mr Costello's comments about a debt limit and the discipline that that imposes on government and the cabinet process. I think those comments remain apposite. I again remind the government that we on this side have said that we will always take a responsible approach to these issues. We were willing to provide a $100 billion increase to the debt limit, essentially, sight unseen, and to take the government on their word ahead of the midyear review. We were prepared to ensure that Australia's debt ceiling was increased and we said we would be prepared to look at it going to the $500 billion, which was the Treasurer's ask after the midyear review. But we did think that if you are going to ask for that sort of massive increase in Australia's debt position, or debt limit, that it was a reasonable, sensible proposition to say: put your books in front of the Australian people. You refused that. It is a very sensible path that would have required a little bit of disclosure by government. Instead you have gone down the track of doing a deal with the 'economic fringe dwellers'—your phrase not mine—and you have convinced them to agree to an arrangement which essentially consolidates existing debt reporting into one document. They are not actually getting any more information from that than what is already on the public record, and I expect that the Assistant Treasurer knows that.

There is one other area that I did want to question the minister on—the climate reporting. This is interesting. This was referenced, I think, in Senator Milne's press release where she said that 'the other thing that we have got is a recognition that climate change policy, if it is not going to be a market mechanism, is going to come out of the budget', and so there is an 'agreement that the government will report on climate change policy on the Australian economy and the budget not only in the media but also as part of the Intergenerational report'. Can the minister provide some details as to what has been agreed?