Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I hope the member for Corangamite's lectern is okay over there; I am very concerned about the property of the parliament. The bad economic news comes so thick and fast under this government that it is very understandable that members of the public—and indeed members of the House—might have trouble keeping up with it and the confused economic response of this government.

It wasn't that long ago that we heard the fact that debt ticked over in Australia: half a trillion dollars for the first time—$500 billion worth of gross debt under this government's watch. That has never happened before, and the government says: 'Well, it's net debt that counts more.' And we accept that: we accept that net debt is a very important measure, and net debt will peak at 20 per cent of GDP, a rate never hit by a Labor government, apart from the financing of World War II—never hit by a Labor government once.

We have issues around debt and deficit in Australia, and the government has a response. Their response is to give a tax cut to high-income earners. Their response is to reduce the tax take in Australia. I would have thought that, when you have got debt at half a trillion dollars, when you have got a deficit that is 10 times bigger than Joe Hockey predicted in 2014 in the coming year, the government would say: 'Well, we might not be able to proceed with that tax cut. We might have to cancel that tax cut, because the budget needs to be in better shape.' But no: this government's priorities are clear to see, because on 1 July, they will deliver that tax cut.

This is a government that is not too fussed about breaking election promises when it suits them. When they find that there is a matter of great principle—of values; it is in their DNA, to their core—like looking after high-income earners, they are completely honourable. They will not have a cigarette paper's worth of difference to their comments about what they have said before. They will deliver in full. On 1 July, as other honourable members have said, we have a government—and even the member for Corangamite just said—that will deliver tax cuts for businesses, tax cuts for high-income earners and a pay cut for low-income earners.

We heard about the corporate tax cuts from the honourable member opposite—and that is another bit of news that honourable members may have forgotten. Remember in question time just a few weeks ago? It took us four or five questions to get it out, but the tax cut cost had gone from $50 billion over the next decade to $65 billion over the next decade.

The Prime Minister stands there and says: '$22 billion worth of education funding is unaffordable.' It was funny money. It was fantasy money. It was unfunded. He said it with a straight face—$65 billion worth of corporate tax cuts.

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