Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Well, it is true. I know those opposite get very grumpy with the truth, but all you have to do is look at these tables at the back of the budget papers—they are called the historical tables—and you can see all of the net debt figures, the historical figures around the underlying cash balance, expenditure, payments, tax, non-tax receipts. They make for very interesting reading and they show how poorly this government is managing our fiscal policy.

One of the most important tasks of an elected government is to set appropriate fiscal policy, to manage the Commonwealth budget responsibly, to consider the impact of fiscal policy on economic growth, to make the investments and reforms needed for a prosperous and fair society into the future, and to make the decisions needed to ensure long-term budget sustainability—and that is the approach the former government took. We did use fiscal policy to keep Australia growing through the global financial crisis. We invested in infrastructure and we did so while ensuring that finances remained sustainable. We made responsible budget savings worth more than $180 billion over the six budgets after 2008-09. And we left Australia with one of the lowest levels of public debt of any advanced economy.

What has been the approach of those opposite? They have broken every promise they made before the election. They have created uncertainty and anxiety in the community. They have sought to ram through unfair policies like the new GP tax, cuts to pension indexation, cuts to family benefits and cuts to superannuation entitlements. Their approach to the budget has damaged consumer confidence and business confidence. Who can forget Joe Hockey?