Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bowman for the question. Our Economic Action Strategy is going to fix the federal budget, which was a terrible legacy from Labor: $667 billion of debt and $123 billion of forecast deficits. If we do not take remedial action, if we do not set about fixing the budget, then the interest bill alone in 10 years time is going to be $3 billion a month as a result of Labor's actions. Seventy per cent of that will be interest payments going to people living overseas, because they are the people that we have had to borrow from to fund the deficits that Labor created.

Our Economic Action Strategy is not just about fixing our budget and it is not just about fixing the household budgets; it is also about fixing the state budgets, because it includes the fact that we are getting rid of that insidious carbon tax. That insidious carbon tax will go, under the coalition. As a result of the carbon tax going, the New South Wales government will save $237 million every year. Currently, the New South Wales government has to spend $237 million a year paying the carbon tax to Canberra. They will not have to pay that, so over four years, instead of paying that, they will have enough money to build a brand new full-service teaching hospital in the middle of New South Wales. That is what they get when they do not have to pay the carbon tax.

In Queensland currently they are spending $148 million a year. They will get to keep the money from this year's carbon tax bill in Queensland and, instead of it coming to Canberra, they could build three new high schools—perhaps one in Townsville, perhaps one in Cairns or perhaps one in the member for Bowman's electorate. That is what they get for saving the payment on the carbon tax. The Victorian government pays $200 million a year on the carbon tax. That is the equivalent of four new high schools every year, or the equivalent of one year of carbon tax in Victoria could deliver payroll tax relief for 39,000 small businesses in Victoria. So that is the benefit that starts to flow through. In Western Australia it is $50 million a year, in the Northern Territory $20 million a year, in South Australia $10 million a year.

Mr Perrett interjecting—

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