Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Flynn for his question. Last night, this budget began a new era of investment in the future, something that every member on this side of the House can be proud of. It is a budget that delivers for working families and invests in the future. It is a budget in which there is some real spending restraint for the first time in a very long time. Every single dollar of new spending was more than matched by savings elsewhere in last night’s budget. We have begun a new era of responsible spending after 11 years of recklessness from those opposite, and particularly from the former Treasurer, who went on a spending spree in the run-up to previous elections, which put upward pressure on inflation and upward pressure on interest rates. That is why this government has tackled the inflationary challenge.

It is also why we have decided to make the investments in the future that we announced. We have announced three multibillion-dollar funds to invest in the future. The first one is the $20 billion Building Australia Fund. It has the strong support of everybody from this side of the House—after decades of neglect from those opposite. We have announced the $11 billion Education Investment Fund, which will pay for ongoing improvements in our TAFEs and universities as part of the education revolution. That is what we support. Thirdly, the $10 billion Health and Hospitals Fund will pay for better hospitals, better health care generally and important medical research. That is what this side of the House supports.

What does the other side of the House stand for in the middle of all of this? The Liberal Party has lost its way on the economy. What they are is the party of welfare for millionaires. They are the high-inflation party. They are the same old Liberals who neglect hospitals and neglect the education system. We on this side of the House are the only ones who are fair dinkum about fighting inflation and investing in the future. That is what last night’s budget proves.

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