Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on these two bills, the Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2017-2018 and the Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2017-2018, before us in the Senate today, which are required to ensure the ordinary functioning of government continues for the remainder of the 2017-18 financial year and facilitate a number of 2017-18 MYEFO measures. The package of bills appropriate about $1.5 billion from consolidated revenue in addition to the appropriation acts passed in June 2017. These amounts are already incorporated into the budget bottom line as presented in the 2017-18 MYEFO—I can see Senator Leyonhjelm laughing already. I wonder how he pronounces it. I'm sure we'll find out next.

Of course, we won't stand in the way of supply. These bills also go to the government's broader management of the nation's finances. We remind those opposite of what the Prime Minister has said on debt in the past. When he was Leader of the Opposition in 2009 he described $200 billion in debt as 'frightening' and promised the Liberals wouldn't 'run willy-nilly into debt'. He described $300 billion in projected gross debt as 'gigantic' and an 'almost inconceivable level of debt' and tried to scaremonger about the debt level with his runner analogy: 'There should be no lead weights put in his pockets or heavy backpacks put on his back.' Yet that is what the government is delivering to us with these higher and higher levels of debt. Surprisingly, the Prime Minister hasn't been as colourful about his own record on debt. On the Turnbull government's watch, gross debt has crashed through half a trillion for the first time in the country's history.