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

I thank the shadow finance minister for that question. The Treasurer and I proudly present the budgets and the updates to those budgets to the Australian people and to this chamber. That has ensured that we have been able to invest in those key areas of service delivery.

Senator Paterson often cites increased government spending. What he doesn't say—what he never says—is the vast majority of that was going into things like increased pensions, increased support for people with a disability and increased payments. Some of that is influenced by higher inflation because those payments can be indexed. That is the bit that Senator Paterson never says out loud. They like to criticise spending, but they don't like to talk about the fact that much of that was demand driven programs, which are variations in the budget, but also that they are important investments.

When we came to government, we did find that there were areas where we needed to make additional investments, and people expected that. Whether that be in payments like the single parenting payment, or whether it be in Commonwealth rent relief to help people through some of those really difficult times, these were the areas that the government prioritised. We will continue to do so, whether it be investments in Medicare; whether it be investments in education so that needs based funding gets delivered to our children; or whether it be investments in early education and care—the work that Senator Walsh is doing—to make sure that every child, regardless of their situation, has an entitlement to early education and care.

We on this side of the chamber believe that it builds a better country if we invest in our people. The government has a role to play there. So while Senator Paterson sees increased spending as a negative, we see it as investment in the future of the country. (Time expired)