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

This is the government that, over the last six years, has restored the balance sheet of this country. We have restored the balance sheet of this country after the reckless spending and the inept financial management of those opposite. Australians have returned this government not once but twice because they understand that the Liberal and National parties know how to manage money. That's why they know, as we come together and we deal with this very real and significant challenge to our economy which has been caused by the global coronavirus, that we will have the discipline to ensure that these measures will be targeted to those affected who need it most, that they will be measured and proportional with the challenge, and that they will be scalable to ensure that the government can continue to respond as is necessary to support Australians, to keep Australians healthy, to keep Australians in jobs, to keep Australian businesses in business. This is the government that has cut taxes . This is the government that has led to the creation of 1½ million new jobs. This is the government that, on the most recent national accounts, has seen growth well in excess of the OECD average and, compared to the G7 nations, only the United States was growing more quickly than Australia over the last 12 months.

What I know about the economic management of those opposite is, when they put stimulus measures in place, they sent checks to pets and dead people. They engaged in programs which saw people's homes burned down and saw overpriced school halls. They saw a stimulus package that they were still spending money on four years after the crisis had passed. The Australian people remember the fiscal recklessness of the Labor party, and that's why they keep rejecting them time after time after time. This Leader of the Labor Party, this Leader of the Opposition, is arguably the most financially inept of all the leaders they've had in the past. He's cockier than the last bloke, he's more arrogant than the last bloke and he's even more incompetent. (Time expired)

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