TREASURER:
Well tonight we have heard what Labor's plans for Australia are, they are to put up taxes and drive the Budget into deficit. Labor's Budget Response was tax increases and eight unfunded measures which, when they are all put together of course, will drive the Budget into deficit. Labor has not learned a thing. Labor supports Budget deficits and higher taxes. Now this was an absolutely irresponsible Budget speech. If Mr Crean had been serious about putting down an alternative economic programme. If he had been serious, saying that he thought that taxes should be lower, why would he announce tax rises tonight? If he had been serious about his measures, why wouldn't he have costed them? To take one example, he says he wants a coastguard. He has not allowed one dollar to build it, not one. Because this was not in truth a reply to the Budget, this was a speech to the Labor Party faithful. And when Simon Crean speaks to the Labor Party faithful he tells them what the Labor Party stands for - Budget deficits and higher taxes.
JOURNALIST:
What higher taxes, in particular, are you referring to, the...
TREASURER:
Well, he announced that he opposes measures which will make Australian companies competitive overseas in relation to international taxation. He announces that he opposes measures in relation to the use of frank dividend, dividend imputation system. He announces that he is going to start denying companies tax deductions, higher taxes. But other than the higher taxes he specifically refers to the fact that he can't fund his programme, the fact that he will drive his Budget into deficit, means he will have higher taxes all over the board if he ever got round to implementing this.
JOURNALIST:
But at the cost of those changes do you concede his Medicare plan is more generous than yours?
TREASURER:
Simon Crean's Medicare plan is a plan to spend $2 billion. Well anyone can announce that. Where does the $2 billion come from Mr Crean. If Mr Crean wants to spend a new $2 billion on Medicare he could do it by cutting back some other area, or as most of the Labor Party wants to do, abolishing the private health insurance rebate. But if all he says, is, he wants to spend $2 billion more that does not mean anything. It is not costed, it is not itemised, he is not coming clean. The only thing he could say is, if he ever got round to it, someone, somewhere would be paying higher taxes.
JOURNALIST:
Were you expecting him to offer a bigger tax cut than yours after...
TREASURER:
I have spent the last 48 hours listening to Mr Crean say that the $2.4 billion worth of tax cuts announced by the Government on Tuesday were not enough. So tonight, we expected him to announce larger tax cuts. What did he announce? Tax rises. The last 48 hours have been an elaborate sham by the Labor Party. Whilst this Government has been cutting taxes, tonight we find out what their agenda was - tax rises.
Thanks very much.