James Paterson Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service
2:00 pm
My question is for the Minister for Finance, Senator Gallagher. Yesterday, in the Senate, you said:
The highest-spending government was the Howard government …
What is the basis for this claim?
Katy Gallagher ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service
I thank Senator Paterson for the question. I was advising the Senate that there have been times—despite what those opposite claim repeatedly in interviews and in here about the level of spending currently and its relation to other periods—where it's exceeded that. I was drawing the Senate's attention to that. If I've made an error, I'm happy to change that. I will get the figures that I was relying on.
James Paterson Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service
To assist the minister, I can table the mid-year fiscal—
Sue Lines President
No, Senator Paterson, resume your seat. If you want to do something different, you seek leave. Also, you interrupted the minister.
Katy Gallagher ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service
I was responding to claims that have been made by people in this place around the level of spending. There have been times where it has exceeded the level it is now, and those opposite fail to recognise that. This government has taken responsible decisions around spending. We have made savings to the budget. We have contained spending growth, despite the period of time that we're going through now, where there are pressures on the government coming from areas like defence, NDIS, health care and aged care. They're all coming at the budget.
We have managed to responsibly manage the budget, find savings where we can and return money for budget repair to pay down the Liberal debt that we inherited and to make sure that we are finding room for the investments that the Australian people rely upon. That is responsible budget management. I'm proud to be a member of a government that take the approach we have, not the slash-and-burn approach that those opposite like to refer to—the savings that they sought in the election campaign—but a responsible approach that seeks to ensure that services are funded appropriately while managing the budget appropriately as well.
James Paterson Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service
President, I seek leave to table the mid-year economic and fiscal outlooks from the departments of the treasury and finance, which have the historical Australian government data on spending.
Penny Wong SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs
They're government documents. You don't need to table them. In an effort to distract from his involvement in leadership shenanigans, he's now trying to create a stunt, but we all know who you are.
Sue Lines President
Senator Wong, resume your seat. Is leave granted for documents to be tabled?
Leave granted.
James Paterson Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service
I table those documents.
James Paterson Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service
2:04 pm
Minister, in the most recent financial year, government spending was 26.2 per cent of GDP. Can you name a single financial year in which the Howard government spent more?
Katy Gallagher ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service
Thank you. Sorry, President, I've just been trying to get some advice. My comments yesterday—I do need to correct the record. I should've said the Morrison government, not the Howard government.
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Hon. Senators:
Honourable senators interjecting—
Sue Lines President
Order! I'm waiting for the Senate to come to order. Senator Bragg, withdraw that comment.
That isn't how you withdraw, Senator Bragg.
Andrew Bragg NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness
My apologies. I withdraw.
Sue Lines President
Thank you. We're six minutes or so into question time and the disrespect in this chamber, particularly to me, is unacceptable. Now, I'm going to call the minister to answer Senator Paterson's first supplementary question and I expect there to be silence.
Katy Gallagher ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service
Thank you, President, and I would like to apologise to the Senate that I wasn't aware until Senator Paterson's question that I'd got the names of former prime minister Howard and former prime minister Morrison wrong. But the substance of the point I was making at the time was that the Morrison government was the highest-spending government. The Howard government was actually the highest-taxing government, and that was the mistake I made yesterday. I take my responsibilities seriously, so I've corrected the record. But the substance of the point I was making was correct.
James Paterson Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service
2:07 pm
To be fair to the minister, she's not the only minister who made this mistake. Yesterday, on Sky News, Senator Ayres repeated this incorrect claim. Minister, how, as the Minister for Finance, are you making such a fundamental error about Australian government statistics, which you publish, and why did you not correct the record earlier?
Katy Gallagher ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service
I've explained that I got the names incorrect and I've corrected the record, and I would ask the same of Senator Paterson every time he goes out and does an interview where he misleads—by not acknowledging that fact. This government—
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Hon. Senators:
Honourable senators interjecting—
Katy Gallagher ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service
To be clear. The highest-spending government was the Morrison government; the highest-taxing government was the Howard government. Those opposite in the election campaign wanted to tax more, spend more and have deeper deficits in order to fund their nuclear powered power stations. That is the offering from the last election from those opposite. They have zero economic credibility, and we will continue to manage the budget responsibly. (Time expired)