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

I thank Senator Hume for that question. She clearly has a great interest in the strength of the Australian economy. When our government was elected in 2013, we inherited a weakening economy, rising unemployment and a budget position that was rapidly deteriorating. Let me repeat that: when Mr Shorten and Mr Bowen were defeated at the 2013 election, they left behind a weakening economy at a time when commodity prices for our key commodity exports were way above what they are in our budget now, they left behind rising unemployment and they left behind a budget position that was deteriorating by a staggering $3 billion a week. In the 11 weeks between Labor's last budget and the Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the budget position deteriorated by $3 billion a week, at a time when the price of iron ore was still above $120 a tonne. We're now forecasting our budget on the basis of $55 a tonne, just to use one example.

As a result of our plan for a stronger economy and more jobs, and our plan to get the budget back into surplus, we are in a much better position now. Our economic growth outlook is better, employment growth is much stronger—in 2017, 415,000 new jobs were created—and, of course, our budget is back on track to a surplus one year early: a $2.2 billion surplus in 2019-20, followed by an $11 billion surplus in 2020-21, a $16.6 billion surplus in 2021-22, rising to over one per cent of GDP by 2026-27, and in surplus all the way through the medium term. As of this year, the government no longer has to borrow to fund our day-to-day expenses. That's been the result of fiscal restraint. It's been the result of stronger growth on the back of our plan for a stronger economy and more jobs. We inherited four per cent spending growth from Labor locked into legislation. (Time expired)