Josh Frydenberg slams Ed Husic for labelling surplus ‘vanity exercise’

Josh Frydenberg says Ed Husic’s remarks on the budget surplus are at odds with leading Labor figures.

Labor's Ed Husic talking with Josh Frydenberg today. Picture: Kym Smith.

Josh Frydenberg has slammed Labor MP Ed Husic for labelling the budget surplus a “vanity exercise” and says the comments are a further sign of the opposition’s division on tax cuts.

Mr Husic, a Labor backbencher, told Sky News today that the surplus was a “political stunt” and that tax cuts should be brought forward whether it leads to the budget falling back into deficit or not.

The Treasurer told The Australian today that Mr Husic’s comments disregard the need to pay down debt and noted the Labor MP was at odds with leading opposition figures who have lauded the importance of the surplus.

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“Such comments completely disregard the importance of paying down debt, being responsible economic managers and ensuring that this generation doesn’t leave an economic burden for the next,” Mr Frydenberg said.

“Husic’s comments are also completely at odds with those of Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers who described the Coalition’s commitment to a surplus as ‘important’ and the Shadow Finance Minister Katy Gallagher who said the Coalition’s surplus was ‘useful and desirable’.

“This latest foray into economic policy by Ed Husic, comes just days after Peter Khalil and Joel Fitzgibbon attacked their own party’s opposition to the Coalition’s tax cuts and just weeks after Labor’s $387 billion of higher taxes were rejected by the Australian people.

“It’s clear that Labor is the party of higher taxes and higher debt.”

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann also blasted Mr Husic’s attack on the surplus and said it was “fiscally reckless and irresponsible” to abandon the surplus.

“Those reckless comments just prove yet again that Labor has learned nothing from the recent election,” Senator Cormann said.

“They are persisting with their losing pre-election high taxing, politics of envy agenda.

“They are proving yet again that they continue to be a party that is fiscally reckless and irresponsible and cannot be trusted with our economy or the Budget.”

Labor has called on the government to bring forward parts of stage two of Scott Morrison’s tax cuts package, but say their compromise plan would not leave the budget in deficit.

ALP deputy leader Richard Marles tried to downplay Mr Husic’s comments today and said the Opposition was committed to being “fiscally responsible.”

“I understand that the government is seeking to put in a surplus. It does matter to be fiscally responsible, we’ve certainly sought to be fiscally responsible as well,” Mr Marles told Sky News.

“Might I say, in terms of bringing forward stage two and provide that tax break right now in a way which maintains the surplus.”

Labor MPs were reluctant to back Mr Husic’s comments but several were dismissive of the government’s attachment to the surplus.

Opposition assistant treasurer Stephen Jones told The Australian that the government had no plan other than a surplus and that while Labor’s plan would “cut the surplus in half”, it was still fiscally responsible.

“They run around shouting ‘surplus, surplus, surplus’, but they don’t have a plan,” Mr Jones said.

“There are a whole bunch of options in front of them including the one we’ve put before them ... it may cut the surplus in half, but it’s still leaves the budget in surplus.”

WA Labor senator Sue Lines dismissed the projected surplus as a “magical set of numbers” and that she did not trust that it would eventuate in next year’s federal budget.

“We don’t have a surplus. It’s just a magic set of numbers. We’ve had promised surpluses before and look how that turned out,” she said.

“Josh Frydenberg needs to look out the window and look at what’s happening to the economy in Australia and the world.”