Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance, Senator Cormann. Can the minister confirm that, after a debt issuance expected tomorrow worth $800 million, gross national debt will exceed $500 billion? Can the minister also confirm that he will set a new record, taking up the mantle for being the first Australian finance minister to rack up half a trillion dollars in gross debt?

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

Of course, the level of gross debt is openly and transparently published on a regular basis through the Australian Office of Financial Management. What I would say to Senator Marshall is what I have said before: gross debt is lower than what it would have been if Labor had been in government. We are in a better position now because of the decisions the government has been able to implement.

Just since the election we have been able to pass another $25 billion worth of budget improvement measures. Over the current medium term, because of the net effect of the spending decisions the government have made and implemented, the budget will be better off to the tune of about $250 billion. That is $250 billion that we do not have to borrow or that will be available to pay down debt once we are back in to surplus. Of course, under our government, we are on a credible path back to surplus—not because of any help from the Labor Party, I would hasten to add. Having left behind an unaffordable, unfunded and unsustainable spending growth trajectory, having created the mess that we are still dealing with and having left behind the chaos that we are having to fix they have, of course, tried to stop us at every step of the way to getting the budget back into the strongest possible position.

Indeed, in the lead-up to the last election, by their own admission and based on their own pre-election costings, Labor went to that election with bigger deficits, to the tune of about $16.5 billion. So on this side of the chamber we do not take any lessons from the Labor Party. I think that people across Australia understand well that it is always the Labor Party that makes a mess of our budget and it is always comes down to a Liberal and National Party government to fix their mess.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A point of order, Senator Cameron?

Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thanks, Mr President. It is on relevance. The minister was asked if he could confirm that we were on track for a record debt. He has not gone near that.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I disagree. He has gone near it by indicating that the information is publicly available. The minister has indicated that and I presume that he has confirmed that by indicating it is publically available. Minister, you have 20 seconds remaining.

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

Just to reconfirm it very concisely: firstly, the number is openly and transparently published by this government—obviously, through the relevant website. And let me say it again: the gross debt level is less than what it would have been if Labor had been re-elected to government—

Opposition senators interjecting—

By your own admission, you went to the last election with bigger deficits. (Time expired)

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Marshall, a supplementary question.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given that the $600 billion cap on national debt, signed off by the Treasurer on 9 May, will not even cover the $606 billion in gross debt expected by the end of the forward estimates, let alone the $725 billion projected by the 2027-28 year, when will the Turnbull government again be forced to increase the cap on borrowings to cover the explosion of debt?

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

These matters were dealt with in some detail during Senate estimates. Of course, what the government—

Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader for Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What are you going to do about them?

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

The projections are published in the budget, and I am sure that Senator Marshall is well aware of what the projections are. What I can assure the Senate is that the government will continue to make the necessary administrative decisions to ensure that the operations of government are maintained appropriately and that financial markets and other markets have appropriate certainty.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Marshall, a final supplementary question.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Given that the Turnbull government has failed its own test to pay down debt, why is the government choosing to hand a $65 billion tax cut to big business and a $16,400-a-year tax cut to millionaires?

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

Something that Senator Marshall clearly does not understand is that Australia is an open trading economy which competes for capital around the world. What we are doing by bringing down the business tax rate and making sure that it is more internationally competitive is to protect our economy and to protect jobs. We compete for capital internationally and we compete for investment internationally. If we want to strengthen our economy, if we want to create more jobs and if we want to better opportunities for people to get ahead then we need to ensure that the businesses across Australia who employ Australians have the best possible opportunity to be successful.

That is precisely what we are doing. The Australian business tax rate is high by international standards at 30 per cent. Other jurisdictions have already moved to bring it down—like the United Kingdom to 19 per cent. The US is looking at reducing it to 15 per cent. If we do not make our business tax rate more internationally competitive, we will lose investment and we will lose job growth opportunities. (Time expired)