Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Williams for that question and for the insight that he has into the need for us to restore the economic fortunes of our country. The Australian people overwhelmingly elected the Liberal and National parties to government on 7 September to fix the budget, not just for this generation but also for the generations to come.

This government has inherited a debt and deficit disaster from Labor that, if left unaddressed, threatens the future prosperity of our children and grandchildren. The International Monetary Fund has warned that by 2018—only four years away—Australia's real government expenditure is set to outstrip all of the other 17 advanced OECD economies. As a result of Labor's fiscal vandalism, Australia is facing the single largest increase in national debt outside Europe. This is simply not sustainable. Indeed, each and every month, as we speak, the government of Australia, courtesy of the Labor-Green legacy, is borrowing $1,000 million per month from overseas just to pay the interest bill—not to pay down the capital; just to pay the interest bill. We are having to borrow to pay for the interest. It is like using your credit card to pay for the house mortgage. At the end of the day, the credit card is going to run out and then the whole house has to be sold off.

We are taking the action that is so vitally necessary today to ensure that the future of our nation is guaranteed. I will conclude on this: government debt is deferred taxation and is theft from future generations.