Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you very much, Mr President. Senator Wong is clearly very touchy given she presided over a $107 billion blow-out in the budget bottom line over her three short years as minister, as minister for finance. So this side of Christmas the government will be releasing the half-yearly update on Labor's last budget and what it will show is that the savings task is indeed enormous and that is because after six years of Labor our budget was left in a mess. The Labor Party in 2007 inherited a very strong budget position, a $20 billion surplus—no government debt there—$50 billion of cash in the bank, more than $1 billion in the interest payments collected by the Commonwealth on the back of a positive net asset position. And, of course, what happened after six years of Labor: $250 billion worth of accumulated deficits, gross debt heading for $430 and beyond. And, of course, we know now—

Honourable senators interjecting—