Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The federal Labor government is committed to a strong economy, a fair society and a sustainable environment, unlike those opposite. The previous speaker, the member for Cook, talked about taxes and about expenditure and waste. Let us talk about the coalition's appalling record on the economy. Let us get a few facts on the table. In the peak period of the Howard government, tax as a percentage of GDP was 24.1 per cent; in 2011-12 it will be 21.8 per cent. Real government expenditure in the next five years will be one per cent, the lowest since 1980. During the last five years of the Howard government it was 3.7 per cent. Underlying inflation in March 2011 was 2.3 per cent. At the end of the Howard government period it was 3.5 per cent. Returning the budget to surplus by 2012-13—

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