Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance and Deregulation. I refer the minister to the $1.7 billion blow-out on school halls, the $1.2 billion school computers blow-out, the $1.4 billion blow-out in Medicare, the $1.8 billion blow-out in pharmaceuticals expenses, the $850 million blow-out in the solar panels program, the $17 million failed NBN tender, the blow-out in the NBN commitment from $4.7 billion to $43 billion, the unfunded $250 million payment to TV stations, yesterday’s unfunded $200 million announcement on aviation security and the over $1 billion in consultancy contracts awarded since coming to office. Minister, why can’t you and your colleagues properly manage taxpayers’ money? Don’t these massive spending blow-outs just put further upward pressure on interest rates?

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

I would refer the member for North Sydney to the fact that in the budget of 2008 there was a total of $33 billion worth of savings measures put in place by the government over the forward estimates. In the budget of 2009 there was a further $22 billion worth of savings measures put in place over the forward estimates. The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook papers were released towards the end of last year. They are, in effect, a mid-term report on the budget. For the first time ever there were savings initiatives in those Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook papers to cover off new spending initiatives that were announced over that period. Finally, I would make the observation to the member for North Sydney that one of the reasons why we had a big task in front of us to find savings in the 2008 budget was that—

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order going to relevance. This question goes directly to the minister’s portfolio. He is responsible for spending—

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

Order, that was not a point of order.

Opposition Member:

An opposition member—It was a good point.

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

I am not in a position to judge whether points are good, bad or anything else; I am here to judge whether there is a valid point of order. That was easy because that was not even a point of order; it was somebody coming to the dispatch box to enter into debate, having asked a question to which the minister was responding.

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

My final response to the member for North Sydney is that when we came to office we confronted a budget where there had been no serious savings measures by the previous government since the 2003 budget. Of course, since we have come to office that pattern of fiscal profligacy has been continued by the opposition. So we have now got to a point where it is seven years since the Liberal Party put forward a serious savings measure. We do not really hold our breath for the prospect that we will get one. Eventually we might get a savings proposal from them, but it has been seven years since the last one.