Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

We do! We agree on so much, but today he has really gone on an adventure!

It takes a very special government to cut health, to cut education, to cut pensions and to cut support for families—$6,000 from the ordinary family—and still more than double the deficit. How do you manage to expand the deficit and expand debt over the next 40 years—it is in their own Intergenerational reportand still be cutting, despite your promises, health, education, support for families and pensions?

I know not many of you noticed, but I was asked to leave during question time today for saying that I object to the fact that this government has a plan—the Treasurer has a secret plan—to cut more than $200 million from New South Wales in GST revenue. I am not ashamed to be thrown out of this place for standing up for the people of New South Wales. They have experienced extraordinary cuts already because of this government's broken promises, with $15 billion cut from New South Wales hospitals, $1.2 billion over the next four years alone, and $9½ billion cut from New South Wales's schools. I am not ashamed to stand up for the people of New South Wales and say, 'No more cuts, and no cut to the GST revenue that New South Wales rightly expects to receive.' Isn't it a shame that Mike Baird is not prepared to say, 'No more cuts to New South Wales'? Isn't it a shame that Mike Baird would rather keep relations good with his surfing buddy than stand up for the people of New South Wales?

We have seen over the last year the most chaotic approach to a budget, ever. We saw that in the first year of government, up until Joe Hockey's last budget, and since then we have seen the inability to get these budget measures through. Here we are lining up for a second budget, with the same chaos reigning. It is really worrying that the foreign minister finds out from the front page of the newspaper that her budget is going to be cut again, for the fourth time in a row. It is worrying that the way she stops that happening is by having a fight with the Treasurer in the chamber, during a condolence motion—

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