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

The government is determined to bring the budget back to surplus in 2012-13. We have put in place the fastest fiscal consolidation ever seen in the history of this country. This has been supported very strongly by reputable international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It has been observed upon by the Governor of the Reserve Bank. We do understand the importance of a clear, consistent and credible fiscal policy; and, when you look around the world and look at the sovereign debt problems we are seeing in Europe and other parts of the global economy, nothing could be more important than a clear, consistent fiscal policy. The government is determined to bring the budget back to surplus in 2012-13.

I have been making a commonsense observation: because we are seeing a slowing in the global economy, it will have an impact on growth in this country and it will have an impact on our budget. I have made the commonsense observation that that makes our task more difficult. That is a commonsense observation. I know those opposite do not understand the importance of all this—they have a $70 billion crater in their budget estimates, and this comes on top of an $11 billion black hole in their estimates for the last election.

So being lectured by those incompetents on fiscal policy is beyond the pale.

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