Alex Gallacher (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's interesting to note that Senator McDonald couldn't even finish her five minutes of allotted time right through. I listened to that contribution and I thought: Well, hang on a second: you're in government! We're asking you a legitimate question, which is asked by a lot of commentators in the economic space.

You're looking at an economy which is faltering. You're looking at an economy that's got some positivity in the minerals sector, which has been buoyant and which has kept the place afloat. If that doesn't continue, what are your plans? Their plans are that somehow or other it's the fault of the Labor Party's policy. You've been in government for six years; have a look down the bloody path. Where are you going economically? A legitimate question was asked, I think last night, of the Prime Minister: 'Are you actually compounding the problem here by chasing a surplus in a stagnating and flat economy? Are you actually going to drive a bit of a recessionary impact by chasing a surplus at all costs?'

We all know a surplus in a rising economy is the Holy Grail. Every household knows that. If you have more coming in and you put a bit aside for a rainy day, that's the Holy Grail. If you have less coming in and you have to buy less or do less to put a bit aside, that's not the Holy Grail. In an economy as large as Australia's and with the impact that this government has on the economy's spending, if you're chasing a surplus at all costs so that you can tick a box saying, 'I wanted a surplus,' and it is actually impacting negatively on the economy, that's dumb.

Senator McDonald hinted at chaotic policies on this side. I don't think we have to go back too far to see the chaos that the Morrison-Abbott government was creating in the community; it was rampant right across. It's true you won an election on 19 May, but don't blame us for your lack of activity in the economy. We are the opposition. We're asking legitimate questions. What are your plans? What are your plans for stagnant wage growth? What are your plans for declining new car sales? What are your plans for declining activity in the building sector? What are your plans right across the whole economy?

It's true that we've had 28-plus years of uninterrupted economic growth, and some commentators would argue that a lot of that is attributable to our reasonably high levels of immigration. Immigrants come to this country and contribute effectively from day one. They build stuff. They buy stuff. They are very beneficial to the economy. This government is looking at lower forecasts for immigration. So you have a fixation with a surplus at all costs, declining economic indicators across many facets of the economy—buoyed only by the mining sector—and a projected lowering of the immigration levels. All of these could well create the circumstances where, unfortunately, we go into a recession—two quarters of negative growth.

Our indicators are not that high at the moment. We're not going that well. When we ask legitimate questions about what this government's plan is, their plan is, 'Well, if you lot were in power, it'd be worse.' I have to say that that's not a plan. Is that the plan that you're going to take to people when they're thrown out of a job? If 750 people lose their job at Virgin or if other companies start laying off people, the plan the government has is, 'Well, don't worry, because if the Labor Party were in power you'd be hurting more.' You've been there for six years. You have another three years to go. What is your plan if this economy tanks, nosedives? Are you going to remain fixated on having a surplus at all costs and punish everybody who falls down in the economy, with no plans of floating a bit or putting a bit of expenditure here or there?

Infrastructure is the classic place to stimulate a flat economy. You have no plans to increase that. 'Oh, we're doing well on that. We're doing well here.' There are plenty of independent economic commentators saying that there are enough warning signals here—flat, declining wage growth; new car sales are down; the building sector is down. Around you, there are enough signs to say that you should have a fiscal plan. When we and other commentators ask, 'What are you doing?' you should have a competent answer, not say, 'You lot were going to be worse.' (Time expired)