Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

The emphatic answer to all of the above is no. Let me tell you what the Australian government has done. Having inherited from the Labor Party a weakening economy, rising unemployment, a rapidly deteriorating budget position and chaos at our borders, what we have done is deliver a plan for a stronger economy and more jobs which has actually led to stronger economic growth than in any of the G7 economies in the world, stronger employment growth than was ever forecast in our previous budget, a much lower unemployment rate than had been anticipated and, indeed, a budget position that is significantly stronger than when we came into government. Today the economy is stronger. The economic growth outlook is stronger. The opportunities for Australian families to get ahead are better, and that is because more and more jobs are being created—more than a million jobs since we came into government.

What would happen under the Labor Party? The Labor Party has already announced about $200 billion worth of higher taxes on investment, on electricity, on housing and on retirees—you name it. If it moves, Labor wants to impose a higher tax on it. Of course, that would mean less investment, lower growth, fewer jobs and higher unemployment. As the unemployment goes up again, as it did under Labor before, wages would fall.

So the choice for Australians at the next election will be: do you want the country to be weaker and Australians to be poorer under Labor, or do you want the continuation of the strong economic management and strong budget management that has put the Australian economy on a stronger foundation and trajectory for the future, which is delivering better opportunities for families right around Australia to get ahead and making sure that the government funding for important public services is on a stronger, more sustainable trajectory for the future? (Time expired)