Dana Wortley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Sherry. Can the minister please update the Senate about how the Rudd government is going about achieving a fiscally responsible approach to economic management and what threats does this important policy face?

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Senator for her very important question. There are few more important issues currently before this parliament, particularly the Senate, than the issue of budget responsibility and fiscal discipline, particularly given the uncertain international economic times that we are witnessing at the present time. The government’s first budget is one built on delivering on our commitments to the Australian people. The Labor Party put forward a comprehensive set of commitments and promises that a Rudd Labor government would be economically and fiscally responsible and fiscally conservative. We gave those commitments before the election and we are going to deliver on it as outlined in the budget. The Rudd government’s first budget is about repairing the legacy of overspending left to us by the previous Liberal government.

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Minchin interjecting—

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Minchin laughs, but he is one of those at least partly responsible in that last year of a discredited and divided former Liberal government who took his eye off the ball when it came to ensuring fiscal conservatism. The budget is also about delivering a record surplus that puts downward pressure on inflation because downward pressure on inflation will lead to downward pressure on interest rates. That is particularly important in the current circumstances. That is the series of commitments we made to the Australian people, the series of commitments we outlined in the budget and the series of commitments the Labor government intend to deliver on in our first budget.

The budget shows we are fair dinkum about assisting Australian families. We have just concluded and passed the income tax cuts. A typical young family will be $51.54 per week better off as a result of budget initiatives which commence in the next financial year beginning on 1 July 2008, in large part because of the income tax cuts. Another example is a couple with one primary schooler and one child in child care, earning a combined $87,000 a year. They will receive an extra $2,608 over 2008-09. This includes $1,050 in tax cuts or about $20 a week directed towards low- and middle-income earners. But, unfortunately, the irresponsible and reckless Liberal Party opposition have already indicated they will oppose several key budget measures. They include the condensate measures, the luxury car tax changes, the passenger movement charge, visa and passport fees and the better targeting of family tax benefit B and dependency offsets. If these measures are not passed by 1 July 2008, the next chance they will have to pass this Senate is in early September. The budget must be passed in full by the Senate by 1 July 2008 to maintain the integrity of the surplus, to keep downward pressure on inflation and to keep downward pressure on interest rates. Treasury have estimated that the cost of the irresponsible delays proposed by those opposite will be some $284 million. So it is time the Liberal Party recognise they are in opposition, recognise they should be fiscally and economically responsible, and pass the budget measures over the next fortnight.