Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Walsh for her question. Yes, I can. We are putting a lot of work into improving the budget overall. As people will remember, we inherited a budget heaving with debt and with deficits as far as the eye could see. Now, we are improving the budget, we're returning revenue upgrades to pay down the debt we inherited, we're forecasting a surplus, we're investing in the services that are needed now and we're setting things up for the future. All of this is about providing the room to make sure that our budget can invest in programs which continue to support Australian households and easing their cost-of-living pressures.

This is responsible economic management. It's responsible budget management. I know it pains those opposite that we are managing the budget in an adult and responsible way, but that is what the people of Australia expect us to do and that is what we are doing. (Time expired)