James Paterson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today is the day that the federal budget will be delivered. I must admit that I am new to this place, but I would have thought that, on the day that the federal budget is due to be delivered, it might have merited the attention of opposition senators in question time. Yet the questions that they chose to ask today in Senate question time were on the following topics: firstly, the Indigenous Land Corporation's annual report—something that has been asked about previously and about which nothing new was learnt from; secondly, their conspiracy theories about higher education reform; thirdly, submarines; fourthly, the Cabinet Secretary—again an issue well ventilated in Senate question time in which nothing new was gained; and, finally, mental health funding. There was not one question on the budget, not one question on tax, not one question on the deficit and not one question on debt.

While I am shocked and surprised on one level that no attention was devoted to economic matters by the opposition senators today, on the other hand I do understand that it is a little bit of an embarrassing topic for those opposite. I do understand that, on the day that the shadow Treasurer called a $19½ billion black hole in his costings a 'rounding error', Labor senators might not want to draw attention to budget matters. I understand, given their record in government, where they inherited $29 billion of net assets and in six years turned that into $153 billion of net debt, and with deficits as far as the eye could see for the forward estimates, that they might not want to talk about the budget and about economic management. I understand, given their plans for this election to increase taxes by more than $100 billion, that they may not wish to talk about the budget and matters of economic management.