Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

Incoming government briefs raise a lot of issues and draw a lot of issues to ministers' attention. In relation to spending, we are always looking at how we can find savings across the budget. We've found $100 billion in savings over our last budget since we came to government—$100 billion! Contrast that with those opposite—none, zero, zilch. Zilch versus $100 billion that we have found. And it is important because it does a number of things. It repairs the budget, but it also allows us to invest in those areas of the economy where we need to make investments, whether it be in housing, whether it be in defence, whether it be in disability services or early childhood education. You have a budget for a reason, and that's so that you can invest in these areas that are important national priorities. We will continue to look for savings. We went to the election with another $6.4 billion in savings to find from the public service. And we'll continue to do that.