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

I thank Senator Bernardi for his question. We of course share his concern about the state of the budget that Labor left behind and, in particular, the spending and debt growth trajectory that we inherited from the Labor Party. As Senator Bernardi would know—because he was, of course, a valued member of the team that worked to repair the damage that Labor did to the state of the budget in Australia—we have so far implemented about $250 billion worth of budget improvements over the medium term. Now, there is much more work to be done.

The first thing that we should be doing is to pass about $13 billion worth of unlegislated budget improvements that are already reflected in our budget. As Senator Bernardi would know, on current projections our budget is projected to return to balance by 2020-21. That does require that we do pass all of the budget improvements that are currently reflected in the budget. We certainly urge all senators—Senator Bernardi, Labor senators and all crossbench senators—to support the government's plan. From there on in, obviously, being in surplus means that we are in a position to start paying down Labor's debt.

In terms of the specific proposal that Senator Bernardi put forward, I will take that on notice, and we will consider whether that is something that we might be able to assist him with further.