PRESENTER: The Finance Minister Penny Wong told Alexandra Kirk the nation has to deal with "a new economic reality".
WONG: Well, as the Prime Minister will make clear today, what we are estimating is that the write-down in revenue that is, how much less money the Government is getting for this financial year will be about $12 billion less than we anticipated in October. So that's a very substantial write-down.
KIRK: Are you talking about a deficit now of around $10 or $11 billion?
WONG: Look, that's budget speculation and you know the Budget will be handed down in just over two weeks and we can have the discussion then. But what I can say to you is that it looks like for this financial year that the Government will be getting around $12 billion less in tax than we anticipated.
KIRK: You're losing about a billion dollars a month in revenue; it's starting to look like a structural problem, the new norm. Is that correct?
WONG: Well, there's certainly a new reality, a new economic reality that the nation has to face and the Government has to face. I'd make the point that in fact in terms of spending, our spending in the year to date is in fact slightly under what we anticipated in October. What we do see...
KIRK: Even with the big influx of asylum seekers?
WONG: It is slightly under in terms of the monthly financial statistics that I've recently released. The challenge that the Government and the country faces is that the government is now getting less tax, less money in tax, than was previously anticipated. And certainly substantially less than John Howard and Peter Costello.
KIRK: How long will it last?
WONG: Well, this is a situation where we see write-downs not only in this year but we would anticipate seeing significant revenue write-downs in the years ahead.
KIRK: So budget deficits as far as the eye can see?
WONG: As I said, we're handing the Budget down in a couple of weeks, but we understand we have to make the right decisions today in this economic climate to ensure we can invest for tomorrow. What you can't do is say, well, we're just going to leave aside something as important as DisabilityCare a fair go for all Australians with a disability. You can't say we're just going to leave aside the investment in our schools when we know too many young Australians are being left behind.
KIRK: How are you going to pay for your Gonski school funding package and the national disability insurance scheme?
WONG: Well Alex, I can tell you one thing: unlike Tony Abbot, this Government will actually be very clear with Australians about the choices...
KIRK: When?
WONG: In the Budget. We'll be very clear with Australians about the choices that have to be made to make these investments, the right investments for Australia's future.
ENDS