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

I thank Senator Smith for that question because it is relevant to have a look at what happened between us and what happened when they were last in power. They always measure our performance. Let's have a little look at theirs: inflation was up, wages were down, jobs were sluggish, productivity was the worst in 40 years, business investment declined, and the budget was in deficit to the tune of $78 billion.

What have we done? Inflation is almost halved. It had a '6' in front of it; it now has a '2' in front of it. Annual real wages are growing. More than a million jobs have been created—a million more people in jobs than when we came to government. We've reversed the decline in productivity. Business investment has grown. Two back-to-back surpluses—something you were unable to do. And this: the trillion dollars of debt we inherited is now $149 billion less because of the way we have managed the budget.