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

My question is to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to the New Zealand budget, released a few hours ago, that forecasts faster economic growth, falling unemployment and a budget surplus one year earlier than Australia. How can the Treasurer insist that the government's budget of deficits, higher unemployment and slower economic growth is unavoidable when New Zealand has been able to deliver an earlier surplus without a major resources industry and with a strong New Zealand dollar?

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

I really do thank him for this question—I really do. The fact that he could somehow say that the performance of the New Zealand economy is a better performance than the performance of the Australian economy leaves me completely dumbfounded. The fact is our economy is 13 per cent larger than it was prior to the global financial crisis.

Christopher Pyne (Sturt, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Education, Apprenticeships and Training) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, on a point of order: to be relevant the Treasurer needs to answer the question he was asked, which was about his government's performance, not about the New Zealand economy. It was about his government's performance versus New Zealand's.

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

The Manager of Opposition Business will resume his seat. The Treasurer has the call.

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

Thank you, Speaker. Unlike the shadow Treasurer I am proud of what our country has achieved over the past 5½ years: 960,000 jobs. How have we done that? Because we have a responsible level of debt, we have a good fiscal policy which has been given the tick by the major ratings agencies and we are making major investments in our future—major investments in economic infrastructure, major investments in schooling—and, of course, making our country fairer. We can do all of these things if we have a detailed plan.

In our budget we have put out a detailed plan about how we are going to grow our economy, how we are going to be a smarter economy to take advantage of the Asian century and how we can make our society fairer. We have done that within a responsible fiscal policy. Our performance across any range of indicators is far better than New Zealand's. So I feel very sorry for the shadow Treasurer, who wants to keep running our country down. He does not get the basis of our economic strength. He does not understand what we need to do to keep our economy strong. Of course, they will invent any reason to avoid laying out a detailed plan for the future.

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

The Treasurer will return to the question.

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

Well, they will invent any reason, Speaker, for refusing to put out a detailed plan. That is why we have had the fiscal fearmongering in here today. They want to use the excuse of debt—which is low by any standard and far lower than New Zealand's—so they are not going to tell the Australian people what they would do if they were elected after September. We know they have a secret plan for savage cuts. We know that, and all of their economic questions asked in this House go to the very core proposition I have just put. When they come in here and say it is a big-spending government—which it is not—that is just code for saying that if they were in power they would slash and burn when it comes to health, education and jobs. That is why you will not see a detailed plan from the Leader of the Opposition tonight.