Gary Gray (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service and Integrity) Share this | Hansard source

Today, Australia enjoys a taxation arrangement whereby the proportion of taxation paid by Australians is less than it was in the last year of the Howard government. It is a simple undeniable fact. It is something that the current government takes great pride in and something that the Australian community takes great relief from. All I hear from members opposite is the preference to tax and to spend, which is something that Australians have never supported. Australians support governments that are capable of keeping their house in financial order and we have said and stated clearly that the budget will be in surplus in the time frame that we have described. We have stated clearly that our taxation footprint is smaller than at any year under the previous government and continues to be the case. Furthermore, we are able to do that because of the extraordinary measures which the government have been prepared to take to better frame our budget and our spending priorities.

Mr Robb interjecting—

The shadow minister interjects, making reference to a carbon tax that is not yet in place. I hear the member opposite lamenting that the tighter fiscal discipline executed by the current government ensured a capacity for our nation to better weather the global financial crisis, to be better positioned and better prepared for the recovery in Australia and to be better prepared and better able to deal with the terms of trade that we currently see. I thank the members for their questions and I take on notice those questions which I have indicated I will. I will come back to them in a timely fashion with answers to those matters.

Proposed expenditure agreed to.

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