Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Finance, Competition Policy and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance and Deregulation. I refer the minister to his comment in the House yesterday that:

... we are reducing the rate of growth in government spending from five per cent per annum to one per cent per annum.

Why does spending growth go up by 5.5 per cent the year after and why would spending growth by Labor of 5.5 per cent not be inflationary?

Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Dickson for his question. This question was in fact asked by the shadow Treasurer, the member for Wentworth, some weeks ago, and I will give the same answer. You are not quoting comparable statistics—you are not quoting the comparable figures from the two different measures that are available. I would suggest to the member for Dickson that before he takes up these issues he should actually consult the budget papers and get the correct figures.

The government has a serious inflation challenge that it is dealing with in the course of the budget. The opposition—apparently it has another position on inflation today—is trying to block significant initiatives through the Senate. We have reduced the rate of spending growth that we inherited from the previous government from around five per cent per annum to one per cent per annum for the 2008-09 budget. That is putting substantial downward pressure on inflation and interest rates.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister will resume his seat. I call the member for Dickson on a point of order.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Finance, Competition Policy and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If it is of assistance, I can table statement 10 from the budget papers, which shows 5.5 per cent—

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Dickson will resume his seat. That is not a point of order.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Finance, Competition Policy and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Now you have the figures, why don’t you answer them?

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Dickson has asked his question. The minister is responding to the question.

Lindsay Tanner (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is very difficult to work out what the opposition’s view of the world is. Apparently a five per cent real growth budget last year was not inflationary and did not matter, but now it is suggesting that something of the same dimension, which it incorrectly suggests is going to occur next year, would be a problem. Perhaps it would be good for all concerned if the member for Wentworth, the Leader of the Opposition and the member for Dickson got together and actually confronted the question of what their macroeconomic management position is—the position that they adopt with respect to the size of the surplus, what the budget projections should be, and what position the opposition should be taking with respect to macroeconomic management and the fiscal settings—instead of contradictory sniping, taking one position today and the opposite position tomorrow. It would do everybody in this House and public debate in this nation a great service if the Liberal Party, which for so long has prided itself on being supposedly the great economic manager of this country, would actually take a position on the question of economic management.

David Bradbury (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer explain why the irresponsible political games being played in the Senate are creating confusion and threaten to punch a hole in the surplus that we need to fight inflation?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Lindsay for his question. The government has built a strong budget surplus of $22 billion. It is absolutely essential to fighting inflation and putting downward pressure on interest rates. Of course, those opposite are intent on punching a huge hole in that surplus which is so essential in the fight against inflation and putting downward pressure on interest rates. As we know, they are currently delaying measures in the Senate worth something like $284 million. But it gets worse, and it gets worse by the day. Last week the opposition blocked measures worth $25 million a month which are needed to fund the Rudd government’s Teen Dental Plan. I can give the House an update on the opposition’s latest act of economic vandalism. Last night alone in the Senate the opposition opposed measures that will cost the budget $117 million.

Government Members:

Shame!

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Shame! That is quite a night’s work, isn’t it—$117 million? Among the measures they blocked was a new compliance regime to stamp out rorting of welfare benefits. And, as a consequence of their action in the Senate, employees in the charitable sector could lose up to $100 a fortnight because the opposition may block a bill containing Labor’s urgent amendments to protect employees from the Howard government’s 2006 FBT changes. That will be on their heads. That is the extent to which they are prepared to be bloody-minded and to punch a hole in the surplus. The opposition’s blocking of these measures will prevent the government from undertaking simple checks to determine whether individuals satisfy the income test for the Commonwealth seniors health card—checks that they themselves undertook when they were in government. This is an opposition that do not know where they are going. They certainly do not understand the inflation challenge that this country faces. We understand disciplined economic management; they do not. We understand cracking down on welfare rorts; they do not. Their rank opportunism is vandalising the budget in the Senate and putting at risk the fight against inflation.