Sean Edwards (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance and the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Cormann. Can the minister update the Senate on the government's efforts to repair the budget and deal with the debt and deficit left by the previous Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government?

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Edwards for that question. Senator Edwards is quite right, of course. Labor did leave behind a debt and deficit disaster after six years of bad financial management. The coalition did promise that we would repair the budget through 'operation budget repair' in the same way as we are stopping the boats through Operation Sovereign Borders.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

When there is silence, we will proceed. Order on my left!

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr President. It is very sad really; Labor continues to be in complete denial about the debt and deficit disaster they left behind. They are in complete denial about the mess they left behind—

Opposition senators: Operation Budget Repair!

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

Senator Cormann, resume your seat; you are entitled to be heard in silence. When there is silence, we will proceed.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We have to remember that in 2007, Labor inherited a strong economy and a strong budget—no government net debt; a $20 billion surplus; more than $50 billion in Commonwealth net assets—the government was collecting more than $1 billion in net interest payments. And of course, after just six short years of Labor's bad financial mismanagement—Labor's wasted mismanagement—we are here, looking at $191 billion in deficits after Labor's first five budgets and $123 billion in projected deficits in Labor's last budget. But of course, whenever we got a budget from the Labor Party, we knew that it was not worth the paper it was written on—it was deteriorating within weeks. Just in the three years that Senator Wong was the finance minister—

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Senator Cormann is entitled to be heard in silence. Order! If you wish to debate the issue, the time is after question time.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the three short years that Senator Wong was the finance minister, the budget position deteriorated by more than $107 billion, compared to the forecast at budget time. So our first job was to find the bottom in Labor's mess. We did that in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. Our second job was to lay out operation budget repair—

Opposition senators interjecting—

and we did that in the budget. And of course, the Senate has now passed our budget repair bill—they have passed our appropriation bills. We will continue to work through all of the budget measures as part of operation budget repair in an orderly and methodical process.

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Order!

Senator Conroy interjecting—

Order! When there is silence—Senator Conroy on my left—we will proceed. Senator Edwards.

Sean Edwards (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question of the minister—and Senator Conroy, economics is not a joke on this side of the chamber. Can the minister—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Order! Senator Edwards, you just need to ask a question, not to comment.

Sean Edwards (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister advise the Senate whether he is aware of any other plans to repair the budget, and deal with the debt and the deficit—the disaster—

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Order!

Senator Cameron interjecting—

Sean Edwards (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

which you, Senator Cameron, left behind in the previous government.

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

Order! When there is silence, we will proceed.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no other plan. There is only operation budget repair. Labor continue to be in denial, as I said earlier. They refuse to face up to their responsibilities, having left behind a complete mess. Labor is still in complete confusion—not only are they opposing nearly $40 billion worth of savings measures now—first they say they are opposed to the budget repair levy and then they pass it. And now we have the Greens—the Greens are now the party that stands for regular cuts in the fuel excise! In 2001, the fuel excise was about 41.5 per cent; today it is about 25 per cent. And now the Greens tell us that they want the fuel excise to continue to go down and down—that is what the Greens are telling us today. What we would say to the Senate as a whole is: we need operation budget repair to succeed, in the interests of our economy— (Time expired)

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Order! I need silence on both sides.

Sean Edwards (SA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Will the minister inform the Senate: what would be the impact on our economy and other families and pensioners across Australia if we do not repair the budget and deal with Labor's debt and deficit disaster as soon as practicable?

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We need Operation Budget Repair—come on down!

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have to say, I like Senator Conroy's interjection that we need operation budget repair. And maybe he should have a chat to the Leader of the Labor Party in the other place—Mr Shorten, Labor and the Greens sadly want us to keep borrowing from our children and grandchildren in order to fund our lifestyle and our consumption today. But that will hurt our economy into the future. It will hurt opportunities for our children and grandchildren into the future, because—you know what?—eventually we will have to pay back the cost for our lifestyle spending today. We cannot keep spending more than we get. We are forcing our children and grandchildren to pay for our consumption today—with interest. All of these cash handouts that Labor wants to keep—

Honourable Senators:

Honourable senators interjecting—

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

Order! Senator Cormann, you are entitled to be heard in silence. Debating the matter across the chamber at this hour is disorderly; the time is after question time.

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr President. What I would say to senators all around this chamber is that you might think that the decisions in this budget were tough, but if we do not make these decisions today, the decisions will only become harder. (Time expired)