Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today, we learned that more than half of voters now rely on the government as their primary source of income, whether through public sector wages, welfare payments or subsidies. That's a pretty incredible figure. Total government spending has surged to its highest levels since the Second World War and it's now at almost 40 per cent of GDP. Treasury's own advice is very clear—it's unequivocal, actually: the federal budget can't be sustained without higher taxes and spending cuts. That advice was never meant to see the light of day. It was released in error, and then the Treasury tried to delete it. But the message is unmistakable: 'Your money is running out.' And the government knows it.

And what was the Treasurer's response to this leak? He was 'pretty relaxed about it'. That's what he said—'relaxed', despite warnings that interest payments on public debt will rise by nearly 10 per cent each year; 'relaxed', while everyday Australians are the ones left to carry the cost of this complacency.

The Treasurer shouldn't be relaxed, because what Labor won't say but Treasury makes pretty clear is that your taxes are going to be going up. This government is wargaming new taxes whilst quietly conceding that their housing targets are unachievable. And who pays the price for that? We all do. Working families do; small businesses do. But, mostly, young Australians pay the price for that—young Australians who have done everything right but, no matter what they do, can't afford to get ahead.

I would say Labor's words are cheap, but they are proving to be very expensive. This government can't fix the budget without taxing more and delivering less. They have started that by their tax on unrealised capital gains—the first step in their mission to tax you more. Australians deserve transparency and a responsible government that respects your hard work.