One year into his job as Treasurer, Scott Morrison has conceded that he does have a revenue problem after all, and delivered a stirring defence of . . . not that much.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Warning of complacency and talking up the level of government debt by using gross figures, rather than the more common net figures, he laid out the case for... surprisingly little.
At the heart of his so-called "headland" speech to the Bloomberg Summit in Sydney on Thursday was his economic program, the one he wants us to support.
Here it is, in his own words: "A plan to drive investment, to drive innovation, to transform our defence manufacturing industries right across the supply chain," which is probably the Adelaide submarine project.
A plan "to reduce the tax burden on investment and enterprise," which is the unfunded company tax cuts the parliamentary budget office says will eventually cost $14 billion per year.
A plan "to open up our enterprises to new markets through more new export trade deals," which refers to three trade agreements the government's own modelling shows will boost exports by just 0.5 to 1.5 per cent while boosting imports 2.5 per cent.
A plan to develop infrastructure and a plan to restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission.
"This is the course we must stay," he said.
Where he went further, he was forthcoming mainly about what he wouldn't do. Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens is among those who want him to use historically low interest rates to borrow big for worthwhile projects. His response: "Just because rates are low, doesn't mean the money is free – you still have to pay it back."
There's two headland speeches to come. If they're good, they'll fill in the gaps.
Peter Martin is economics editor of The Age
