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

I thank Senator Moore, a Queensland senator, for her question. As we know, the Queensland floods are likely to be the largest natural disaster in our history in economic terms. We have all seen the human cost, as well, graphically and tragically displayed in recent weeks. As a government we are faced with two tasks—rebuilding Queensland and returning the federal budget to surplus. We are focused on both. This government has delivered a $5.6 billion package to rebuild Queensland and other flood-affected areas in Australia; a package that is both fiscally responsible and economically sound. Two-thirds of our package will be funded through spending cuts—two out of every three dollars. Another third will be delivered through a modest one-year progressive levy which will not be paid by people directly affected by floods or by low-income earners. Some 60 per cent of taxpayers will pay less than a dollar a week to help rebuild Queensland.

Obviously the government has had to make hard decisions in putting this package together. We have had to reduce funding for or cut programs which were priorities before the floods but which clearly, now that the focus is on rebuilding and reconstruction, cannot have the same priority. This government is delivering quickly on rebuilding—it is focused on rebuilding, unlike some—but at the same time it is also ensuring we protect our fiscal position. Yesterday we saw the opposition’s much heralded package. We heard so much about how tough it was going to be; so much about how easy it was going to be to find savings. But of course we know now how little work was actually done. (Time expired)