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

We have found $7 billion worth of savings in this budget, something that the previous government could not find. But the member for Wentworth is in the giveaway department. When he was last in government, as the minister for infrastructure demonstrated before, there were a lot of giveaways, particularly in Wentworth, but not for the people of Australia. And now he is in opposition he is in the giveaway department again. He wants to pay welfare to millionaires; he is in the giveaway department again. He wants to go out there and irresponsibly attack the strong surplus this government has responsibly put in place to tackle inflation, provide the buffer we need from international uncertainty and give us the capacity to invest in the future. All of those opposite—listen to them today through question time—have simply lost the plot. They are consistently inconsistent and there is not a semblance of economic responsibility about any position they take. When they left government, spending was growing at over four per cent. We had the highest-spending growth of any four-year period in a long time.

See this speech in context