David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer update the House on yesterday's strong national accounts? Will the Treasurer outline how a strong economy supports a balanced budget and gives hardworking Australians the confidence to get ahead?

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

I thank the member for Banks for his question and I commend him on the great work he is doing as the chair of the House Standing Committee on Economics, particularly in relation to taking up the issues in the banking system. I commend those committee members for the work they are doing in that area.

Yesterday's national accounts represented a vote of confidence by Australians in their own economy, working together with the government to ensure that we are doing our part to drive growth in our economy. Australia's economy is, once again, growing faster than every G7 country today. Business investment and consumer spending has improved. New business investment was up for the first time in 12 quarters and the contribution to growth from household consumption more than doubled in the December quarter. So I find it puzzling that the Leader of the Opposition has just been saying in the last day or so that Australians have been closing their wallets. The December quarter figures show that they have more than doubled their contribution. The confidence of the Australian consumer in the Australian economy was demonstrated.

In addition to that, both volumes and prices of our exports increased in the December quarter. We have seen an improvement in income and we have seen an improvement in the terms of trade over the last three quarters. What that has meant is that our current account deficit is at the lowest point, the narrowest point, since 1980. That is supported by those high export volumes and prices.

The resultant improvement in our terms of trade from commodity prices is very welcome, but you cannot build your budget on the vagaries of commodity prices. You cannot do that. An improvement in commodity prices does not give a leave pass to increase spending or step back from the job of budget repair. That is the very firm view of this government. Our fiscal strategy, which is published in the budget, is to reduce the deficit and to reduce debt on every opportunity, if there is any improvement in commodity prices or improvement in the parameters that would lead to that result. That is the very strong view of this government.

You do not chase the commodity prices up the hill or down the valley. What you do is focus on the structural integrity of your budget. That is why, under this government, we have reduced the growth in spending from over 3½ per cent when the Labor Party was running the books to less than two per cent. We have reduced the growth in debt from 34 per cent, which was what the annual growth in debt was growing at when the Labor Party was running the books. We have reduced that by two-thirds. We must continue to ensure that we do the job of budget repair by getting expenditure under control.

Andrew Leigh (Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You have doubled the debt!

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

The member for Fenner!

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

Bills have already been through this House that were voted against by the Labor Party, who have refused to support the government to get expenditure under control. They have a simple message for the taxpayers of Australia: they want eight out of 10 income taxpayers going to work every day to pay for that welfare bill. They want them to pay more. (Time expired)

Mr Brian Mitchell interjecting—

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

The member for Lyons will cease interjecting.