Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I refer senators on the Labor side in particular to a quote from former Treasurer, Mr Swan. In his 2011 budget speech he said:

… meandering back to surplus would compound the pressures in our economy and push up the cost of living for pensioners and working people.

Treasurer Swan said meandering back to surplus would be bad for pensioners, families and the economy. Well guess what? Under Bill Shorten and under Chris Bowen, not only are they not meandering back to surplus but they have taken the expressway back the other way. They are taking the expressway to bigger deficits and more debt and that is not in the national interest. The Labor Party need to start thinking about what is in the national interest, they need to start thinking about what is in the interest of our children and grandchildren. And what is in the interest of our children and grandchildren is to build a stronger economy and to fix the budget mess that Labor left behind.