JIM CHALMERS MP
TREASURER 

SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER
MINISTER FINANCE
MINISTER FOR WOMEN
MINISTER FOR THE PUBLIC SERVICE
MINISTER FOR GOVERNMENT SERVICES

BIGGER DEFICITS, MORE DEBT AND MORE RORTS UNDER DUTTON

The Coalition’s announcement of two off-budget funds will mean bigger deficits, more debt and more rorts under Dutton.
 
This is a recipe for bigger deficits and more gross debt, not less.
 
These new funds will mean that future revenue won’t be used to directly improve the bottom line or pay down debt.
 
Instead, taxpayers money will be parked in new funds that we know will be rorted. 
 
As Angus Taylor and Peter Dutton have said, “the best indicator of future performance is past performance”.
 
When they were last in Government, Peter Dutton and the Liberals racked up bigger deficits and more debt and today’s announcement is more proof they will do it again.
 
The Coalition had a shameful record of treating public funds as political slush funds, and this is exactly what they would do again.
 
Nothing the Liberals say about the budget means anything until they come clean on what they’ll cut to pay for their $600b nuclear reactors.
 
The Liberals need to explain how much they will push up gross debt, what this will cost Australians and whether this means even harsher cuts.
 
Our Government has brought debt down, restrained real spending growth and unlike our predecessors banked the vast majority of revenue upgrades.
 
Since coming to Government, around 70 per cent of tax upgrades have been returned to the budget, compared to only around 40 per cent under the previous government and the Howard Government who returned only around 30 per cent.
 
We’ve lowered the Liberal debt by $177 billion this year, saving $60 billion in interest costs in the process.
 
The choice at the election is between Labor’s plans to help with the cost of living, strengthen the economy and budget, and build Australia’s future, or more debt, waste and rorts under the Liberals.
 
THURSDAY, 10 APRIL 2025