Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Edwards for that question. The Treasurer and I have released the final budget outcome for Labor's last budget. It shows the extent to which the previous government lost complete control of the budget. It shows the extent to which the previous government made a complete mess of the budget and left behind a debt and deficit disaster. It also shows that on coming to government we were able to stabilise the budget position as a foundation from which to repair the budget mess that we inherited from our predecessors.

The previous government left behind $123 billion worth of projected deficits in their last budget. They left behind a debt growth trajectory taking the country to $667 billion and growing beyond that. They left behind a situation where the government right now has to pay $1 billion a month in net interest payments. We have about 10 million taxpayers across Australia. Every month every single taxpayer in Australia pays 100 bucks just on the interest to service the debt that the Labor Party has left behind; every single taxpayer in Australia has to pay $1,200 a year on the debt that Labor left behind.

Of course, Labor said that 2013-14 was going to be a surplus budget—$2.2 billion they said. Then it became an $18 billion deficit. Then it became a $30 billion deficit. In the 11 short weeks between the 13 May budget and the election, the budget position deteriorated by more than $1 billion a week. So we inherited a deteriorating budget position, a weakening economy and rising unemployment. We have stabilised the situation. In the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook we presented the true state of the budget. The final budget outcome shows that, unlike Labor, our estimates are realistic and accurate. (Time expired)