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

It just shows that those opposite have not got a clue when it comes to the very basic elements of national economic policy—no understanding of the role of fiscal policy and no understanding of the role of monetary policy. I have already quoted what the IMF had to say about our budget and the role that it played in taking pressure off the Reserve Bank to get itself in a position to loosen monetary policy. Our surplus is absolutely fundamental in that and, if those opposite think they can blow a $6 billion hole in our surplus and it may not have any ramifications for future Reserve Bank decisions, they have another think coming. They are living on a different planet. We do still have in this community a substantial inflation challenge. One of the reasons the Reserve Bank is able to talk as it has been talking in recent times is that we put our budget together to take pressure off the Reserve Bank.

See this speech in context