Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Hansard source

The problem with socialists is that they don't understand the difference between spending money and raising less in revenue out of the economy—and I wasn't reflecting on the Labor Party. I heard that Senator Wong might have been getting a bit sensitive there. When I say 'socialists', I mean those Greens socialists at the bottom of the Senate chamber over there.

Let me just make it very clear: when the government raises less in tax out of the economy, that is leaving business and Australians with more of their own money. You're obviously talking about the fact that, in relation to road user charges, businesses that don't actually use roads are not required to pay road user charges, which is of course an entirely reasonable thing to do. I mean, if you use roads, you pay road user charges; if you don't use roads, you don't. That is what we believe in on this side of the chamber, and we believe in stronger economic growth, in more jobs and in— (Time expired)