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

That is completely and utterly false. What the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook shows is that, after we have accommodated the increased expenditure over the medium term—the record funding for hospitals, schools, infrastructure and all of the other essential services Australians rely on—and after we've accommodated the cost of our phased-in income tax relief plan, our budget is in surplus from 2019-20 onwards and remains in surplus all the way over the forward estimates and over the medium term. That is what you call having paid for the cost of your policy decisions. That is what the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook, independently certified, shows.

The final point is that this amendment is the Labor Party persisting with a pre-election argument that was absolutely and emphatically rejected by the Australian people. The Australian people voted in favour of income tax relief for all working Australians. They voted against Labor's high-taxing politics-of-envy agenda. That is why, in keeping faith with the verdict of the Australian people, we will vote against this amendment.