Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children's Services) Share this | Hansard source

And he is right. I understand, as the member for Bennelong says, Mr Brogden is right. He said:

I understand what the critics of the super tax on mining are trying to do. They are trying to link the negative effect on the mining industry with the negative effect on the superannuation industry.

These figures today here indicate pretty clearly that it simply does not hold up. It does not hold up in the short term and it does not hold up in the long term. Through this budget and by supporting the other measures, which we have done in the past two years, Australia is becoming a better and fairer place due to the Rudd’s government’s determination to meet its economic commitments with fairness. It should not be forgotten that we raised pensions for the aged and for people with disability. Unlike previous governments, which have sought to buy the votes of pensioners with one-off handouts, we have put it into their base rate, which allows people to count on it. When I listen to the Liberal Party’s scare campaign on debt, I think that the fact that we are going to pay off our debt quicker than anyone expected demonstrates the solidity and responsibility of an excellent budget last night.

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