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

My question is to the Treasurer. Now that it is clear that the Treasurer's budget forecasts are based on a mining tax that is meant to increase tenfold to deliver the revenue over the next four years, a market-traded carbon tax that ignores market prices and an asylum seeker budget that claims a miraculous 90 per cent drop in illegal arrivals by boats, when will the Treasury just come clean and admit that the budget needs emergency rescue?

Ms Macklin interjecting—

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

The Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs is warned.

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

We have prepared a budget based on the forecasts of the Treasury. Our budget and its forecasts have been prepared by the same officials that prepared budgets for the previous government—

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

They are not the same officials!

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

They are not? I can tell you that they are.

Opposition members interjecting—

By and large they are, yes, it is true that there has been a change in terms of the permanent head, but the group that is doing the budgets for us is substantially the group that was doing them for those opposite. We have accepted in full the forecast of the Treasury in our budget over our forward estimates. We have done that because they are realistic, and as I said before to the shadow Treasurer, if you read basically the analysis of the market economists, it generally accepts the central proposition that has been put forward in the budget in terms of our growth forecasts. If he denies that, he can do that at the risk of simply getting people up there to go and read what all of the credible market economists have been saying. I ask people to do that because this attempt to discredit our forecasts is despicable, because what they are doing is reflecting on the professionalism of our public servants—despicable and disgraceful. This is a political agenda which is designed to get the Leader of the Opposition off the hook because he does not intend to provide detailed plans for the future in his budget reply tonight, because he knows that, if he supplied the detailed plans that they really have for the future, they would be unacceptable to the Australian people because those opposite have an economic approach which endorses the approach of austerity which is being used so unsuccessfully in Europe. They do not believe in supporting jobs and growth like this government. We are members of the Labor Party; it is in our DNA, and we always do everything that we can to support jobs and growth. Yes, we have had a challenge in our economy over the past 12 months caused principally by a higher Australian dollar and a lower terms of trade. The dollar has been higher for longer and had a dramatic impact on the profitability of our companies. All of the profit based taxes are down, and it is not principally the resource rent taxes, as he dishonestly said in his remarks before. It is company tax, it is superannuation tax, it is capital gains tax, it is resource rent taxes—all of them are down to the tune of $60 billion, and the logical proposition that he is putting to the house today is that if they were in government, faced with these revenue downgrades, they would cut over the forward estimates by $60 billion, and then you would see some real damage to jobs and growth in our economy and you would see some real damage to the quality of education and healthcare in our country. (time expired)

Mr Lyons interjecting—

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

The member for Bass will leave the chamber for one hour under standing order 94(a). That is unacceptable. The member for Fowler has the call.

Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Speaker. My question is to the Prime Minister. What role does responsibility and transparent fiscal policy play in making Australia stronger, smarter and fairer?

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

I thank the member for Fowler for his question. I am asked about transparent and responsible fiscal policy. Of course, this is budget week and this is the week in which the government makes its choices for the Australian nation clear through our budget, and we have done that—our choices to make the nation stronger, smarter and fairer. People can look at the documents, people can assess our choices and they can agree with them or disagree with them, but they are transparent for all to see.

Of course, budget week is not just about the government's budget and responsible and transparent fiscal policy is not just about the government's budget; it is also about the alternatives put forward in this parliament by the opposition, particularly by the Leader of the Opposition tonight. I would like to endorse words spoken in this parliament on 14 May 2003. These were words spoken about the then opposition leader's reply to the budget. The quote is as follows:

When he gives his response to the budget tomorrow night, he needs to tell us exactly what he would do. If the tax cut was not enough, how much would he add to it? Once he has told us how much he would add to it, he then needs to tell us what he would cut to pay for it.

… he should tell us exactly where it is coming from and he should tell us exactly what will be cut to pay for any increase in spending that he proposes.

Words spoken in this parliament in 2003, words I specifically endorse, words spoken by the Leader of the Opposition. That is his test tonight that was set by him. It is a test he should pass. It is not a test he can quibble with because he said it himself. What does his test for his reply mean—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Seniors) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker—

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

I see the protection racket has started. Here we go.

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

The Prime Minister will resume her seat. The member for Mackellar on a point of order.

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Mackellar, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Seniors) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, this is question time, not lecture time. To be directly relevant it needs to be relevant directly to the question asked, which it clearly is not. She is quite out of order.

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

The member for Mackellar will resume her seat. The Prime Minister has the call.

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

This is a time for questions and it is a time for answers. The Leader of the Opposition, having set his own test for his budget reply tonight, must certainly do this. If he endorses DisabilityCare, does he endorse every saving to pay for it and, if not, what are the alternate saves? Does he endorse our plan for school improvement? If not, does he take the responsibility of cutting half a million dollars off every Australian school? What is he going to do? What is he going to cut to fill the $70 billion black hole the shadow Treasurer revealed on morning television? What will be used to fill that black hole? If he is not taking the money off the mining revenue, what will be cut to make up for that $5.5 billion? If he is not taking the revenue from the carbon tax, what will be cut to make up that loss of revenue? What is on the chopping block—health, education, pensions or family payments? The real answer is all of it, and the Leader of the Opposition should detail every cut tonight, every cut to the bone. With those words, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.