Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann

The Coalition is working hard to build a stronger economy, create more jobs and repair the budget mess we have inherited from Labor.

We are doing so without any help from the Labor Party who are blocking our plans to scrap the carbon tax and the mining tax in the Senate.

Labor is also blocking $20 billion of budget savings, including $5 billion of savings they themselves initiated and banked in their last budget, but never legislated.

Chris Bowen today dishonestly tried to use an analysis of Labor's last budget as an indicator of the future performance of the Coalition government.

The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook is the half-yearly update of Labor's last budget and on the state of the economy left behind by the previous Labor government.

It is no secret and should not come as a surprise to Chris Bowen that we inherited an economy growing below trend, rising unemployment and a budget in very bad shape from the previous Labor government in which he was the Treasurer.

The Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2013/14 is a reflection of that.

We are delivering on our commitment to build a stronger economy, create more jobs and repair the budget.

If Labor was genuine about their concern for job creation they would support our plans to scrap the carbon tax and the mining tax, to reduce red tape costs for business by $1 billion a year, to invest in productivity enhancing infrastructure and to repair the budget mess Labor left behind.

We stand by our commitment to 1 million new jobs over five years.

We will deliver the next instalment of our plan for a stronger economy and more jobs in our first Budget in May.