Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann

MATHIAS CORMANN: The time for the Labor party to play political games on Budget savings they took to the last election is well and truly over. In this Parliament there is a lot of work to be done to put Australia on the strongest possible economic and fiscal foundation for the future. There is a lot of work to be done to ensure that Australia is as competitive and as resilient as possible, to deal with external shocks but also to be in the best possible position to take advantage of all of the opportunities coming our way, to strengthen growth, create more jobs and to ensure that families across Australia have the best possible opportunity to get ahead. That is why it is important for us as a Parliament to come together and act swiftly on those things that we agree on. The savings that are included in the Government’s Omnibus Budget Savings Bill are savings that were part of both the pre-election Budget bottom line of the Labor party as well as the pre-election Budget bottom line of the Coalition. We should get on with it, pass it, so that we can focus on all of the other important economic reforms of the Government that we need to continue to have a conversation about.