Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Minchin for his question. The global recession has led to the biggest downgrades in budget revenues in living memory, wiping around $210 billion from the budget. These downgrades are responsible for around two-thirds of the deterioration in the budget position since the last budget. In the current environment the only responsible course of action is to borrow to finance the temporary deficit. The alternative, significant spending cuts or tax increases, would result in a deeper and longer downturn and much higher unemployment. Even after accounting for revenue downgrades, the government’s balance sheet remains among the strongest in the world. Our projected levels of net debt are lower than any of the major advanced economies. Net debt is projected to peak at 13.8 per cent of GDP in 2013-14. This compares to an estimated 80 per cent of GDP for the 25 largest advanced economies collectively. Let us be clear: the government has a clear strategy that will begin returning the budget to surplus— (Time expired)