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

I remind the senator that we are undertaking an extremely rapid fiscal consolidation—some 4.4 per cent of GDP over three years. It has been commented on favourably not only by the International Monetary Fund but also by a range of economic commentators. I would remind the senator that we have had, for example, Macquarie Bank come out and say:

By any measure this is an aggressive consolidation. Just as the stimulus was aggressive so, too, was its removal.

The reality is that those opposite are perpetrating a falsehood: they are asserting that we are not reducing spending. We are, and the markets know that. The reality is that if the good senator believes that he has a view about spending then he should come forth and tell the Senate and the Australian people which projects he would like to stop halfway through. (Time expired)