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

My question is to the Treasurer. I refer to his statement earlier in question time:

I think is very important that we have a debate about economic policy based on the facts, and the facts are these: expenditure as a percentage of GDP is the lowest it has been in almost 30 years.

Given that his own latest published budget figures state that on six occasions in the last 30 years, expenditure as a percentage of GDP has been less than what it is this year, how can we have a serious debate about the facts when the Treasurer himself does not get the most basic facts right?

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

I know the shadow Treasurer is highly embarrassed by the fact that he was part of what is the highest-taxing government in Australian history and that now, comparatively, our levels of expenditure as a percentage of GDP are quite low. That is the point that I made. We have put in place very strict expenditure control in the most difficult of circumstances. When you were in government you went on a spending spree—you pushed the expenditure ratio through the roof and you also pushed the tax-to-GDP ratio through the roof. What was the outcome of that? Ten interest rate rises in a row.

So we are happy to have a debate about growth and jobs, about who has got the policy framework to support employment, because there are millions of Australians depending on the judgements that are made in this House.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Treasurer got his facts wrong against his own published document. Will the Treasurer please explain what facts he wants us to deal with—the ones he has made up or the ones that are true?

Ms Anna Burke (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for North Sydney will resume his seat. I am assuming his point of order was on relevance. It was hard to actually ascertain it.

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

Those opposite have a $70 billion crater in their budget bottom line, and the first group that is going to pay for that is parents and schools, because those opposite are going to abolish the Schoolkids Bonus. Then they are going to get rid of the tripling of the tax-free threshold. Then they are going to move on and rip away superannuation benefits for low-paid workers. I think all Australians can see that there is an agenda on that side of the House to take the axe to the social safety net and a sledgehammer to our economy. On this side of the House, we stand for growth and jobs and a sensible and balanced economic policy that brings prosperity to all Australians. On that side of the House, they stand for a savage attack on the living standards of low- and middle-income earners in this community. That is what is going to play out as we go through this year and there is a straight comparison between the success of this government in managing the economy and the incompetence on the other side of the House.