Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. The final budget outcome for 2015-16 was dumped out late on a Friday afternoon two weeks ago. If a projected deficit of $4.7 billion for 2015-16 warranted a budget emergency, what does the Treasurer call the government's final deficit figure of $39.6 billion—a deficit more than eight times larger than that projected when this government came to office?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I always welcome questions from those opposite about deficits, because on that side of the House they have written the book on deficits. They have written the book on deficits. And the final budget outcome showed, for that year, that the actual deficit was less than was anticipated at the time of the budget this year.

But it was those opposite who went to the Australian people at the last election and said what Australia needs is an even bigger deficit. They said that the deficit over the budget and forward estimates should be $16½ billion higher than what we announced in May of this year. They also think that the way to try and drive investment in this country is to increase taxes—so higher taxes to fund higher spending, and they want bigger deficits over the budget and forward estimates. Now that is not a plan to drive jobs and growth.

Ms Plibersek interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney has been warned!

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

And that is why it is not surprising that those opposite were rejected at the last election—because they could not be trusted to run the economy of this country. And they need to reflect on that, because what I notice from those opposite is a hubris and an arrogance, after the last election. We had the Leader of the Opposition do a lap of honour for an election he never won! Perhaps he was celebrating his victory over the shadow transport and tourism minister. Perhaps that is what he was celebrating. But what we know is that hubris and arrogance is preventing them from understanding that the Australian people do not want to see the country go into even higher levels of debt.

They wanted to add $16½ billion to Australia's deficit and to drive up debt. That is what they wanted to do. On this side of the House we outlined a budget that would see expenditure as a share of the economy fall over the budget and forward estimates and the deficit decline and we would, therefore, arrest the debt. Those opposite only have a plan to spend more, to tax more, to ensure the debt rises by more. That is why they remain totally opposed to providing support, particularly for small and medium sized businesses, which is necessary to drive investment, which drives growth, which drives jobs. So happy to have questions from those opposite, from the architects of higher deficits, higher debt and higher taxes.