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

We have put in place an expenditure cap once growth returns to trend of two per cent. It is going to be a very, very tough discipline for this government or any other government into the future—a very tough discipline. That is why we have put in place our long-term savings. That is why we took our savings responsibilities so seriously last year and why we have taken them so seriously this year—this year particularly because of events in the global economy and particularly because we had to make some room for the pension increase. We had to make some long-term structural saves, and we have done that. We have a responsible course of action but the weight is now on those opposite: where are they going to make the savings? They say they are not going to run a deficit, they say they are going to support the pension increase, so where are the savings? They are simply not credible.

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