Ben Morton (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer update the House on how the government is ensuring that Australia has a competitive and growing economy? Is the Treasurer aware of any threats to undermine national economic growth and reduce the living standards of hardworking Australians?

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

I thank the member for Tangney for his question and for his keen interest in ensuring that Australians live within their means and that the budget lives within its means. We know that Australians are doing it in his electorate of Tangney. I wish those opposite would live to learn within their means. The government certainly knows how we need to do that, and that was outlined in our last budget.

Mr Hammond interjecting—

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

The member for Perth is warned.

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

Last Thursday night in Sydney, the Reserve Bank Governor set out a very important challenge to this parliament, and that was that we needed to do two things: we needed to drive growth in the economy by ensuring we have a competitive tax system, particularly for business taxes in this country, and that we simultaneously went down the path of returning the budget to balance. That is the challenge that he set out. But I note that he is not the only one who has actually set this out as an important objective.

Mr Perrett interjecting—

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

The member for Moreton will leave under 94(a).

The member for Moreton then left the chamber.

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

I do not do this often but I will quote the member for Lilley, the former Treasurer—and he will remember these words; they were wise words. In 2010 at the National Press Club, he said in relation to the release of the Intergenerational report:

Faced with these budget challenges, we essentially have three options. We can cut government services or increase taxes; we can allow budget pressures to build and leave the problem for future generations to deal with; or we can take steps now to grow our economy.

We are actually following that advice—at least on this one occasion, when it comes to the member for Lilley—in ensuring that we deal with the challenge of fiscal consolidation and we grow our economy by supporting lower rates of tax for businesses so they can employ more Australians, so they can reinvest in their companies and so they can take themselves forward. But those opposite have a very different approach. What they are doing is standing in the way of getting the budget back into balance, by refusing to expect a government to be able to get expenditure under control. They refuse to acknowledge that our spending must be affordable and that you just cannot keep running up the bill and expecting others to pay for it.

Those opposite are like a father and/or mother taking their kids out for a dinner, and they order up big and order everything they can—put it on the table; put it on the table—and then, before the bill comes, they walk out the door and they do a runner, leaving the kids to pay the bill. The Leader of the Opposition is used to people picking up the bill for him when it comes to his dining expenses, but our children should not have to pick up the bill for those opposite, who want to keep running up the bill. We think that spending should be affordable. We think we should be able to get that in order. We simply ask those opposite to not tax future generations of Australians because they, those opposite, cannot get control of expenditure.