Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. As I was saying, the IMF strongly endorsed the government’s commitment to fiscal discipline and our firm plan to return the budget to surplus in 2012-13. I would remind the good senator that the IMF commented specifically on our fiscal consolidation, the fastest fiscal consolidation since at least the 1960s—a faster fiscal consolidation which most other advanced economies could aspire to. The IMF made a range of comments in relation to the importance of and the appropriateness of our fiscal strategy. (Time expired)