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

The point I was making is that the budget that was handed down by the Treasurer for 2019-20 was based on the assumptions of the economy at that time. And the assumptions of the economy at that time were very credible assumptions, as opposed to the assumptions that were made by the previous Labor Party when they were in government and forecast surpluses based on pure fantasy. The surpluses that we forecast at the last budget were based on an outlook that was a very credible and a very sensible outlook at that time.

The challenges we now face, which have literally emerged in just the last few weeks, will definitely have a significant impact, and they have been evaluated by Treasury as we move towards the next budget. But this is what the Australian people will know: that the actions of our government will always put jobs first, will always put those businesses first and will always put that investment first, and, because we worked so hard to bring the budget back to balance, which we achieved last year, we can now confront the challenges of bushfires, of coronavirus, of floods and of drought.

That's why the Australian people trusted us at the last election. Those opposite thought the best antidote to what the country was going to face was higher taxes and higher spending. That was rejected by the Australian people at the last election. This leader of the Labor Party still clings to those policies, and that's why the Australian public don't trust him with the economy any more than they trusted the last bloke.

See this speech in context