Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] When you boil Mr Morrison's budget down, it's a plan for a trillion dollars of debt with no plan for how to get us out of it. This Liberal Party that once carried on hysterically about what they called a debt and deficit disaster is now delivering our nation unprecedented debt and deficit, extending as far as the eye can see. Australians are right to ask: 'Are we getting bang for our trillion bucks? Will that money be spent wisely?' Right now, it doesn't look like it. Is there money for child care to help parents with young children to get back to work? No. Is there money for schools? No. Is there money for TAFE training? No.

Australians do know how much the Morrison government has misused taxpayers' money. Last month, the Morrison government was caught paying more than 10 times market value for airport land, and, coincidently, a Liberal Party donor was the beneficiary. They spent over $100 million on the unlawful sports rorts last year and have tried to sweep that scandal under the carpet too. We only know about these scandals because of the vital work of the independent Auditor-General, who scrutinises the government's spending. Now that the Morrison government is about to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more, you would think the Auditor-General would receive additional funding to try to ensure that money is spent properly. But has that happened? Of course it hasn't. The Auditor-General's funding has been cut in this budget, because, more than anything, this Prime Minister and his ministers hate scrutiny and hate accountability. (Time expired)