Mr TED O'BRIEN (Fairfax—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (15:17): Australia is going in the wrong direction. Under Labor, Australia is becoming poorer. Under Labor, Australia is becoming weaker. Under Labor, Australia is becoming more dependent on other nations. And the only way this can be turned around is if the Labor government starts to put the Australian people, rather than the government itself, at the centre. In order to do this, a prerequisite is to fix the budget. We all know—on both sides of this chamber—that the Australian government's budget is not sustainable. We know that Labor also appreciates that, because the Treasurer conceded as much only weeks ago. Herein lies the test for the Labor government: the starting point for fixing the budget is to stop the spending spree. As a percentage of GDP, spending has gone up from 24 per cent to 27 per cent under this government. To put that into perspective, that means Labor's spending this year is $160 billion higher than when the coalition left office. This equates, on a household level, to $16,000 per Australian household. You can imagine doorknocking your local community and asking them whether or not this year they're feeling value for money, with an extra $16,000 being paid out by this Commonwealth government. The spending spree is genuinely out of control, and the problem is that what's funding it is more debt. The Treasurer has added more than $112 billion in new debt, which is why, this year, debt is set to reach $1 trillion. Debt hits $1 trillion this year under this Albanese government. Of course, nobody would argue that this is not fiscally irresponsible. But, more than that, this is morally bankrupt, and it is so because every single dollar that this Treasurer borrows goes on the shoulders of the next generation. This is akin to the Treasurer taking the credit card where the words imprinted on it are 'future generation' and just racking up debt. It is like the mums and dads of Australia going into their children's rooms, stealing their credit cards and going out on a spending spree, hoping that maybe one day the kids will pay back that debt. That is where this is so morally repugnant. We know that Australian families have been doing it tough. They've been in household recession, and what have they been doing? Unlike the government, they have been living within their means. If the everyday Australian family has to do it, why shouldn't the Australian government? That's not fair. That's not genuine. Even the most recent national accounts show that the savings-to-income ratio has gone up to 5.2 per cent. So, at the very time that households are showing fiscal prudence, this government is spending. Not only are we going to see $1 trillion of debt this year but we will see deficits over the next 10 years. That is this newly elected Labor government's plan for the Australian economy: $1 trillion of debt and 10 years of deficits. This places the Treasurer at a fork in the road. He has a choice here. He can turn right and stop the spending spree, or he can turn left and increase taxes. Is there any guess as to which way the Treasurer might go? Could this treasurer, the member for Rankin, possibly increase taxes? Often, history is a good record as to where someone might go, and so I dug out the taxes that this treasurer has had something to do with. We're talking here about the carbon tax, the mining tax, the superprofits tax, the resource tax, the safeguard tax, the family car tax, the housing tax, the retiree tax, the family trust tax, the small-business tax and the deficit levy tax—and this is just a sample. Mr Dreyfus: You forgot one! Mr TED O'BRIEN: And I take the interjection from the honourable member, because I did forget one. Mr Dreyfus: It was yours! Mr TED O'BRIEN: I forgot about the superannuation tax. So you're right. I give him credit. It is superbig— Honourable members interjecting— The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): Okay, we're getting a little bit loud here. Just keep the interjections down. Mr TED O'BRIEN: and it's superbad. We know it is. I believe those opposite also know it is. In fact, the most egregious part of the tax to which the honourable member referred is the taxing of unrealised capital gains—the notion that you are going to tax theoretical profits that have never even been made. We know already from question times in this sitting that neither the Treasurer nor the Prime Minister would accept stopping the extension of unrealised capital gains at superannuation. In other words, they have every intention of extending unrealised capital gains beyond superannuation. We have heard from the former prime minister Mr Keating in media reports and we have heard from the Assistant Treasurer as well that it's not going to be just a few Australians who are hit. We are going to see everyday young Australians entering the workforce today eventually hit by this new super tax from the Labor Party. Something that hasn't been mentioned about this super tax is the fact that they are introducing something which is called the Henry VIII clause. For new members who aren't aware of this, the Henry VIII clause basically gives the Treasurer the right, after the bill goes through the House, to unilaterally make his own proclamations of change to the superannuation rules, the tax rules, without having to come back into this parliament, effectively leaving this parliament aside. There's a story here with this Treasurer. He has a history. He was previously titled something in this House when he was on this side of the chamber. You know what it was? Sir Taxalot. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): I don't think we'll go into repeating that remark again. Mr TED O'BRIEN: He didn't like those comments, and I thought it was for that very reason—that, maybe, it was not the sort of thing that one should say. However, with the fact that Henry VIII clauses are coming in, we now realise the reason he was offended. He didn't want to be a 'Sir'. Why be knighted by the sovereign when you can become the sovereign? Why not? Why not become the royal from Rankin? All hail King Taxalot, the Treasurer of Australia! The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Excuse me, member for Fairfax, we just had a discussion about the use of that term. You agreed that it might not be the best way to proceed, so let's not repeat it, please. Mr TED O'BRIEN: Thank you very much for your wise words, and, of course, I'll take it, Deputy Speaker. I'll just move to the next part of the Treasurer's life. He has a productivity roundtable coming up. He's already made it very clear that he will put a ruler over the ideas that come to the roundtable on the principle that they be at least budget neutral but preferably budget positive. In other words, he is looking for more taxes to feed his spending spree. You do not make an economy more productive by raising taxes. In contrast, as shadow Treasurer, I will put a ruler over the ideas at the roundtable on the principle that they be at most budget neutral. In other words, higher taxes will not be accepted. It is plausible, of course, that this productivity roundtable is nothing but a ruse by the Treasurer, who knows very well that he has lost control of the budget. He cannot put the spending spree down, and he wants to raise taxes. So he has got 25 people in a room to give him cover to raise taxes. We on this side of the House are not interested so much in 25 people but in 27 million Australians, and they are who we'll fight for.