Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Conroy, the Minister representing the Prime Minister, who apparently next week will go to Rooty Hill with bodyguards, drivers and an entourage to work undercover—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question!

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I refer the minister to an investment note issued by UBS yesterday morning stating that: 'Based on the first six months of budget returns, we expect a revenue shortfall of about $12 billion and an expense overrun of about $3 billion, to take the Australian government's fiscal balance to a deficit of about $15 billion for the financial year 2012-13.' Given that the Prime Minister once said that getting the budget into surplus—

Government senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! Wait a minute, Senator Joyce. Senator Joyce is entitled to be heard in silence.

Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given that the Prime Minister once said that getting the budget into surplus was 'the best thing we can do to help families with cost-of-living pressures,' why is the government about to deliver its fifth budget deficit, of a size approaching $15 billion?

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Joyce for his question and congratulate him on wearing an ovarian cancer ribbon. The government has always been upfront when it comes to fiscal policy and the budget position. Since we came to office, we have delivered updates of the fiscal position every six months, putting out our budgets and midyear updates. We have reported monthly on the outcomes of government receipts and payments. We have put out a comprehensive final budget outcome at the end of each year.

In this time, we have been subject to extraordinary and volatile economic circumstances, but we have done the right thing by Australian jobs. We ensured during the global financial crisis, through fiscal measures, that 200,000 Australians stayed in a job. That was because of our fiscal stimulus package—which you opposed. As the Treasurer said before Christmas, we are not prepared to simply start sacrificing economic growth and jobs at the altar of illiterates like those opposite. When it comes to economics, those opposite have had one go at presenting a fully costed plan to the Australian people in five years. They had one go at it and all they could come up with was an $11 billion con job, as was exposed after the election by Treasury analysis. They hired a bunch of Dodgy Brothers accountants, who have been fined for professional misconduct. They hired Dodgy Brothers accountants— (Time expired)