Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about some aspects of last night's budget for the Deakin electorate. As you know, last night the Treasurer handed down a budget that lays the strong foundations for our country's future. It is a budget that lays the strong foundations for the future of people living in my electorate of Deakin.

It is a budget that calls on everyone to contribute and build; a budget that calls on everyone and every business to join or grow the workforce, to boost productivity and to help build a stronger economy with more investment. We are all playing a part, because we have a huge load to carry. Labor ran up record deficits and left $123 billion in future deficits. If we took no action, Australia would face another 10 years of budget deficits, and debt would hit $667 billion. Every month, the government is paying $1 billion in interest costs on Labor's debt.

Labor's mess means that this government has had to make some difficult but necessary decisions to put the budget on a more sustainable footing. Like Deakin families, who must live within their means, the government cannot continue to borrow and spend. Families in my electorate know how important it is to manage a household, and when I speak to those people and explain the enormity of the debt problem we have inherited from the former government they appreciate the importance of taking measures to get the budget back into the black for their future and, even more importantly, for the future of our children.

The days of borrow and spend must come to an end; the time to contribute and build has begun. We must reduce Labor's deficits, and that is exactly what this budget does. Because of this budget, Labor's deficits have been reduced by $43 billion and debt is forecast to be about $275 billion lower in a decade. We are taking this path back to surplus while honouring our commitments, including reducing the overall tax burden so that families can plan for their future and get ahead. We are also doing this while supporting the most vulnerable.

In this budget, we are redirecting taxpayers' dollars from the unaffordable consumption of today to the productivity enhancing investment of tomorrow. In Deakin, this productive investment of tomorrow includes the government's $3 billion towards the East West Link. This vital road project will not only slash travel times for families in my electorate and help improve productivity, it will also create more than 6,000 jobs. My message to Deakin residents in the coming weeks is that this is a necessary budget for the future of our country.