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

The biggest risk to our economy, to jobs and to getting the budget in a stronger position into the future is Mr Bill Shorten. We have to remember that when Mr Bill Shorten and Mr Chris Bowen lost government in 2013 they left behind a weakening economy, rising unemployment and a rapidly deteriorating budget position that was deteriorating by $3 billion a week. They haven't learnt from their past mistakes. Bill Shorten's anti-growth, anti-jobs agenda would take Australia back to where we were in 2013: a weakening economy, rising unemployment and a rapidly deteriorating budget position, because lower growth means less revenue for government and higher expenditure on people on unemployment benefits, and that is precisely what Labor caused when they last were in government. That is not where Australia needs to go.