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

On government spending, we have delivered the first back-to-back surpluses in almost two decades, something that the governor herself has drawn attention to as being helpful. We have returned 70 per cent of all tax receipts to the bottom line, when you only returned around 40 per cent. Debt is $188 billion lower in 2024-25 than what was forecast prior to the 2022 election, saving $60 billion in interest costs. And we have managed to restrain average real annual spending growth to 1.7 per cent over the seven years to 2028-29. That is the budget doing what it needs to do. Responsible budget management—