Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Senator Wong. Can the minister outline to the Senate the importance of maintaining a sound fiscal strategy that will return the budget to surplus? How does this compare with other strategies and are there any risks to achieving this strategy?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Cameron for the question. This is a government that understands the importance of fiscal discipline, particularly when we know over the medium term that the economy will be nearing capacity. It is sensible for a government to ensure that it brings the budget back into surplus and that is why the government is putting in place the fiscal strategy that has been announced. I am very interested to notice the interests of the opposition on this because on this issue they are all talk and no action.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Listen to all the ‘guffaws’. The opposition might like to laugh when they remind the Australian people that they went to the last election with a nearly $11 billion black hole in their election costings. Perhaps they would like to remind the Australian people that their flood package had $700 million in double counting. They might remind the Australian people that they are blocking savings measures here in this chamber that come close to $5 billion.

Yes, they have gone very quiet. They talk the talk but will not walk the walk. They talk the talk but will not make the hard decisions. With a $10.6 billion black hole, blocking $5 billion in savings and $700 million in double counting in their flood package they have the temerity to come into this chamber and tell this Senate that they are the party that are fiscally responsible. What a complete joke! One wonders where some of their spokespeople are—and I will come to this subsequently—because the opposition are being completely fiscally irresponsible at the moment. (Time expired)

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remind senators that shouting across the chamber is disorderly. If you wish to participate in the debate the time is post question time.

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister outline for the Senate any examples of risks to fiscal discipline?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The risk to fiscal discipline is the opposition. That is the risk to fiscal discipline. It is very interesting. My counterpart, Mr Robb, who I think we should call ‘the Great Pretender’ when it comes to fiscal responsibility, talks the talk. He says: ‘Spending, spending, spending; more commitments, bigger deficit, off into the future using all of the mining industry money. What a disgrace. What an absolutely irresponsible, inconsiderate, highly politicised approach.’

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On both sides! If people in the chamber wish to participate in debate the time is post question time. I just remind senators of that. Senator Wong is entitled to be heard.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When Mr Robb speaks of an absolutely irresponsible, inconsiderate, highly politicised approach, he could be speaking about his own party room where, for some reason, as shadow minister for finance he let through an $11 billion black hole on the election costings. He has let through $700 million of double counting in the floods package, which I notice he did not appear at—that was interesting. He has let through $5 billion of blocked savings measures and now he is allowing Senator Ronaldson— (Time expired)

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Can the minister advise the Senate how the impact of spending proposals is measured and whether this has changed over the last decade?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Robb appears not to have spoken to Senator Ronaldson about the risks of imposing a $1.7 billion fiscal impact on the budget bottom line, as well as an increased unfunded liability of $6.2 billion, which is what Senator Ronaldson is putting forward.

Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Ronaldson interjecting—

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

These are Treasury and Finance costings, Senator. If you do not like them I think you have got a problem with the budget. The thing I was most interested in was the description by the coalition’s spokesman Mr Robert, who described the fiscal balance as complete nonsense because it relied on adding up every increase in the pension over decades. He said no other policy is done that way. Perhaps he should have a chat to Peter Costello, because Mr Costello introduced accrual accounting. The method of accounting that Mr Robert is dismissing has been used as the basis of budget measures since the 1999-2000 budget introduced by Peter Costello. You have no idea about budget discipline, you have no idea about how the budget works and you are fiscally irresponsible. (Time expired)