Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance) (14:32): If we repair the budget now we will be able to protect living standards into the future on a sustainable basis. We will be able to grow a stronger economy where everyone has the opportunity to get ahead. Of course, we know that the Labor Party does not like to hear these things because they know it is true. The reason we know that it is true is because there is a precedent. We know that back in 1996— Senator Kim Carr interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator Carr. Senator CORMANN: a previous coalition government inherited a budget in a mess from a previous Labor government. The previous Howard government inherited $96 billion of government net debt and a $10 billion deficit; and, of course, the Howard government, Mr Howard and Peter Costello, fixed the budget. They repaid the net debt left behind by the Labor Party which meant that we had to pay less public debt interest, we were able to deliver income tax cut after income tax cut and we were able to lift benefits and services for low- and middle-income families. These are all the things that you can do when you have sound financial management. The reason we have to fix the budget is because of where it leads. It leads to a better future. It leads to a situation where we can protect living standards for families, pensioners and everyone across Australia. It leads to a situation where we can lift— Senator Polley interjecting— Senator O'Neill interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator Polley and Senator O'Neill! Senator CORMANN: opportunities for people across Australia. That is what we have done in the past and that is what we are setting out to do now. For those who want to see what can be achieved when you get your budget back under control, look no further than what happened when the Howard government did the exact same thing. We ended up with a legacy of strong economic growth, strong jobs growth, income tax cut after income tax cut, increases in benefits and improvements in government services—all of that on a sustainable basis because the budget was under control.