Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I wanted to give you the courtesy of making sure you have the right officials here. First of all, can you describe the trajectory that underpins this legislation. As we discussed before, this year's budget mentions this legislation at least 18 times and says that this legislation is going to deliver $60 billion worth of savings over the next 10 years. I'd like to go to that aspect, particularly the numbers that underpin the savings in the number of people on the scheme and those who are projected to come off the scheme. Can the minister please describe the current trajectory of expenditure on the scheme. We have just had the fourth quarter figures drop and, on my calculations, it has gone from quarter to quarter. Last quarter it was just over 20 per cent year on year. From the fourth quarter, from memory, it was about 18½ per cent growth based on the quarter-to-quarter figures. I'm just wondering if the minister can confirm that and then explain, year by year, how that growth trajectory is to come down to the projected eight per cent, which is where the budget has been cut to.