Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Singh for her question. Thanks to the Labor government's leadership, Australia has a very strong budget position—and this, of course, is a great strength during a time of global turbulence. But the government has made it very clear for some time that global instability will inevitably have an impact on our economy and on our budget. On Friday the Reserve Bank showed the weakness in the global economy was affecting our economy, with downgrades to its growth forecasts. Today, a report from Deloitte Access Economics shows how the budget revenues have taken a hit as a result of global pressures. The global instability is also impacting on confidence in the economy. It is making consumers more cautious and businesses more hesitant to hire, and all of that of course has an impact on our budget. But, despite the instability, the government remains determined to return to surplus in 2011-13 as planned. We understand that there is work to be done to ensure we meet this target, and the revenue downgrades caused by the global turbulence will make the job of returning us to surplus in 2012-13 more difficult. But we are determined to get there. This means we need to make further budget savings. The government is working towards putting together the mid-year budget update, which it will release before the end of the year.

Now more than ever a disciplined fiscal approach is absolutely critical. We have seen how the markets punished countries that do not have the same level of fiscal discipline as Australia. This government is delivering the fastest fiscal consolidation on record and through this we are providing more room for the RBA to cut rates if the global situation deteriorates further. The IMF, the RBA and global rating agencies continue to back the strength of our budget position and our strategy to return the budget to surplus in 2012-13, well ahead of our international competitors.