Today’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook shows the Liberals are too divided and chaotic to care about responsible Budget repair and economic management.

This is a Budget update defined by global strength and domestic weakness.

MYEFO shows that for the current financial year, economic growth is down, investment is down, and wages are down, while the terms of trade are up on the back of a stronger global economy. 

This is not a Budget update based on a solid economic reform agenda, or higher productivity or stronger wages. This is a Budget update courtesy of a stronger global economy, with no input from a Government riven by chaos and without a domestic reform agenda.

Adding to the five years of Liberal Party confusion and chaos, the Treasurer was today unable to confirm whether hidden tax cuts mean an early election and the Finance Minister was unable to explain why he’s broken his own fiscal rules.

MYEFO also shows:

• Net debt has more than doubled under the Liberals to $352 billion this year, and gross debt is $542 billion having crashed through half-a-trillion dollars for the first time ever on their watch;
   
• No new money for early childhood education, which means that as it stands, there are cuts to universal access to early childhood education for four-year-olds;
   
• Of the $31 billion in parameter Budget improvements, the Government has obliterated its own Budget rules and spent more than half of it; and
   
• The tax take is $108 billion higher than it was in 2013, with tax-to-GDP now expected to be over 23 per cent for the entire forward estimates period, something not seen since the Howard era.

 
Labor has said for some time, the Government is simply not doing enough to capitalise on the good times. 

The Government is claiming victory on the Budget before it’s even made it to the finish line. 

As the IMF and others have been arguing - while global conditions hold up, it’s time to rebuild fiscal buffers and save for a rainy day. 

This is exactly why Labor has made the difficult calls and will deliver a stronger Budget while economic circumstances allow. Our responsible reforms allow us to fund important public investments while also paying down debt.