Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Mackellar for his question and I acknowledge his background in the private sector before coming to this place and his chairmanship of the House tax and revenue committee—and no-one was more pleased when we on this side of the House, against the will of those opposite, passed more than $300 billion of tax cuts. We on this side of the House believe the path to a stronger economy is through lower taxes, more jobs and responsible budget management. Yesterday was the 24th anniversary of the Howard government coming to office, and it's important to remember what they inherited and what they left. When they came to government, they inherited a budget deficit of around two per cent of GDP, or $11 billion. By the time they left office, there was a budget surplus—

Mr Brendan O'Connor interjecting—

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