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

Not only is it responsible but it is necessary, because it is part of a plan for stronger growth and more jobs. This is part of a long-term plan for stronger growth, more jobs and better opportunities for working families around Australia to get ahead. What the Treasury secretary, Mr Fraser, indicated during Senate estimates was that the government's economic forecasts reflected in the 2018-19 budget are prudent, cautious and in line with those economic forecasts of independent institutions like the Reserve Bank of Australia—in fact, in some areas, they're somewhat more prudent than those of the Reserve Bank or, indeed, the International Monetary Fund.

What Mr Fraser did indicate—and it's, of course, all spelled out in the budget papers—is that there is always risk. If we walk out of this building and cross the road, there's risk. We manage that risk by looking right and left to make sure we don't get hit by a car. What the government is doing is managing the risk. There are some things that are outside of our immediate control but what happens in the global economy or with world prices for our key commodity exports or in certain geopolitical matters is not something that is in our direct control. Because of that, and because we are an open trading economy, and because we compete with other countries around the world, we need to ensure that at all times we are in the best possible position to be competitive internationally and that we provide the right incentives, the right encouragement and the right reward for effort to Australian families to get ahead. That is how we generate stronger growth.

If individual Australians have the best possible incentive to get ahead, that leads to stronger growth across the economy in aggregate. As we have stronger growth across the economy in aggregate, because we are addressing bracket creep, what happens is that low-income earners in particular have better opportunities to get into the jobs market, have better opportunities to work more hours and get more pay and have better opportunities to get ahead. That is the whole point of our plan for jobs and growth. We want to ensure that our agenda— (Time expired)