Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind the Prime Minister of her government's record of forecasting the budget bottom line. This year's deficit was originally supposed to be $12 billion, then $23 billion, then $37 billion and now $44 billion. Why is next year's forecast of a wafer-thin $1.5 billion surplus any more likely to be accurate?

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do welcome a question from the Leader of the Opposition on the budget and on economics, because we so rarely see them—causing, as we found out last night, members of the Liberal Party to yearn for a return of Peter Costello.

The answer to the Leader of the Opposition's question is as follows. If the Leader of the Opposition looked at the budget papers he would see that our determination to return to surplus is evidenced by the fact that in the forthcoming financial year 2012-13—where we have budgeted a $1.5 billion surplus—since the last budget, revenues to be received have gone back by approximately $10 billion. And, despite that major knock on revenues, we have worked to find savings so that we bring the budget to surplus in that year.

This is part of a broader savings package of $34 billion across the forward estimates. So I say to the Leader of the Opposition: look at that determination; look at how it builds on $100 billion of savings identified in past budgets and how it builds on $11.5 billion of savings in the midyear outlook. I say to the Leader of the Opposition, too, that when he is reflecting on this year he needs to acknowledge that this is the year in which we have dealt with a number of one-off factors like, for example, this being the financial year immediately after the most costly natural disasters in the nation's history.

To the Leader of the Opposition, who has spent months and months and months predicting that the government would not bring into this parliament a budget with a surplus, I say this: he has been proved wrong then and he will be proved wrong now. In his negativity, the Leader of the Opposition will do anything to try and besmirch what is a remarkable achievement for our nation: coming out of the global financial crisis so strongly, keeping people in work and now returning the budget to surplus so quickly. He will do anything to deny the Australian nation that achievement, because it is all part of his reckless negativity towards the economy and towards the work of this parliament in general.

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the next member, there is way too much noise in the chamber for anyone to hear any answer. I ask people not to continue with ambient conversations around the chamber; it is very disrespectful.