Jim Molan (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Finance, Senator Cormann. Can the minister inform the Senate—

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I would like to be able to hear the question.

Jim Molan (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister inform the Senate how the Morrison government's strong financial management has made Australia more resilient and able to deal with challenges facing the country, including drought, bushfires and coronavirus?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

ANN (—) (): When we came into government, we inherited a rapidly deteriorating budget position—deficits as far as the eye could see. Indeed, in the 11 weeks between Labor's last budget and the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook, the bottom line deteriorated by $33 million. That was on the basis of assumptions that were completely non-credible. We have been able to turn the situation around. We have worked very hard over the last six years to put Australia on a stronger, more resilient economic and fiscal foundation and trajectory for the future.

That is why we have been able to deal with the challenges that our country has faced in recent months head-on. That's why we have been able to invest substantially more to support drought affected communities. That is why we've been able to put on the table $2 billion immediately to fund the bushfire recovery activities in bushfire affected areas around Australia. That is why we've been able to provide the immediate response that we have in relation to the coronavirus.

It is too early to fully assess the economic impact, particularly in relation to the bushfires and the coronavirus. But let us contrast our capacity to respond with what happened under our predecessors. Remember the Gillard Labor government. In the context of the floods, what did we get? We got a flood levy as well as the carbon tax that we were promised we would never have. We got the mining tax. There were taxes everywhere. Even at the last election, if the Australian people had decided to elect a different government, we would now have higher taxes, a weaker economy, less opportunity for Australians and less resilience for Australia to deal with the challenges that we're currently dealing with. The work we as a nation and as a government have done over the last six years has put us in a stronger position to deal with the challenges that our country is dealing with right now.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Molan, a supplementary question?

Jim Molan (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister outline how we've maintained this strong economic position while being able to deliver tax cuts to Australian workers and businesses?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Lowering the tax burden, putting more money into people's pockets, has been a central part of our plan to build a stronger economy where Australians have the best possible opportunity to get ahead. But lower taxes are only a part of our plan, of course. We have been pursuing an ambitious free trade agenda, helping our exporting businesses get better access to markets all around the world. When we came into government, only 26 per cent of our two-way trade was covered by free trade agreements. We've been able to lift that to 70 per cent of our two-way trade, and we're working to lift it further. My friend and colleague Simon Birmingham is working hard to lift that to 90 per cent of our two-way trade, helping our businesses sell more Australian products and services overseas, generating more jobs here in Australia and generating stronger economic growth here in Australia. Our ambitious deregulation agenda, our significant investment in infrastructure and our skills agenda—you name it—are all working to deliver a stronger, more resilient economy in the face of global economic headwinds and domestic challenges.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Molan, a final supplementary question?

Jim Molan (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

OLAN () (): How has the economy turned around compared to the set of numbers inherited when we came into government?

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Vice-President of the Executive Council) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Again, under Labor there was rising unemployment and a rapidly deteriorating budget position. Today the big story under our government is more than 1.5 million new jobs.

When we promised in the lead-up to the 2013 election that we would create a million new jobs in the economy in our first five years in government, the Labor Party sneered at us. They said that it couldn't be done, that it was a pipedream. But, of course, we have exceeded and delivered on that commitment before time.

If you look at the performance of our economy in an international context, our economy continues to grow, wages continue to grow faster than inflation, employment growth is strong and the participation rate is the highest it's ever been—in particular, the participation rate among women and older Australians. Yes, we're facing challenges. Yes, we're facing headwinds. But we are in a much stronger position than we would have been under Labor's disastrous, high-taxing— (Time expired)