Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I refer the member again to the speech given by the Reserve Bank governor last Thursday night when he made it very clear that what we need in this country is a competitive business tax system and ensure that we have fiscal consolidation. We need to do these things together, not instead of. They need to be done together, and that is what was in the budget we handed down in May, and these are the measures that we have brought into this House. These were the proposals that were indeed recommended by the member for Lilley. In that same speech I referred to before, he also said:

Government spending that seemed affordable during the period of largesse prior to the global crisis may not be affordable over the longer term.

So, those on this side of the House understand: when spending raises to a particular level which cannot be sustained into the future, then you need to get your spending under control. On this side of the House, we understand that the real commitments that we want to make to ensure that there is affordable child care for Australian families and that the National Disability Insurance Scheme is fully funded, not left by an empty promise by those opposite.

We make no apologies for doing the hard work that is necessary to ensure that these things deliver these important impacts for Australian families, that makes these things affordable and gives them the reliance for the future are done. Those opposite think you can just keep running up the bill without ever having to pay for it. They think you can just keep putting the bill on your children, on the credit card and just let it run off forever.

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