Tony Smith (Casey, Liberal Party, Deputy Chairman , Coalition Policy Development Committee) Share this | Hansard source

In speaking on the Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2011-2012 and cognate bills, the fourth budget from this Labor government, delivered by the Treasurer, Mr Swan, it is right and proper to reflect on the fiscal failure of this government and the Treasurer, on the level of confidence in the delivery of budget programs and on the level of honesty of the Treasurer himself. In this wide-ranging debate on these appropriation bills, it is right and proper that the House reflect on what the government has promised in the past, that the House reflect on the government's ability to manage the budget and the economy and that the House reflect on the value of the government's word, and indeed the value of the Treasurer's word as the person responsible for the budget and the government's approach financially. Each appropriation debate, we get this opportunity to reflect and I want to start on the most obvious issue in the budget—that is, the position of the budget and the government's fiscal strategy.

We have heard the Treasurer talk about the government's planned fiscal consolidation, spruiking that if all goes to plan this will be a very fast fiscal consolidation—and my friend and colleague the member for Bradfield in the chamber with me has heard speaker after speaker on the other side talk about this. Of course what they fail to mention every time is that they presided over a very fast fiscal deterioration. You only need to go to the detail of the budget papers to see the true picture that has emerged under this Treasurer. Our debt position is a good starting point. On the government's own budget figures, Australia's net government debt this financial year will be $107 billion. You would not have found that figure in the Treasurer's budget speech. But you would know from the Treasurer's budget speech, if you were watching, that there is a percentage of GDP in there. But in mentioning that figure alone and not mentioning the net government debt dollar figure, we know that that is the Treasurer's history and form. He deliberately does not mention the dollar figure of the debt and his colleagues, like the previous speaker, will never mention the dollar figure of the debt because they do not want the Australian public to know the level of their financial failure and incompetence.

The Treasurer did not mention the $107 billion figure in his budget speech. He went from his budget speech to a series of television interviews. In one of them on Sky News on budget night, he was asked to name the dollar figure. His response was that he did not have the figure with him. From this we are led to believe that the Treasurer of this country either does not actually know the dollar figure for net government debt without it being brought to his attention in his own budget papers or—and I think this is really the case—will go to any lengths to conceal it. The member for Bradfield may not agree with me on this, as good friends as we are, but even this Treasurer would know the level of government debt in dollar terms. I think this Treasurer will go to any lengths to conceal the truth. He will engage in any amount of trickery to conceal the facts and those opposite will engage in any level of juvenile behaviour and never mention the figure.

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