My question is to the Prime Minister. I remind her of the government's declaration in the 2011 budget speech:

We will be back in the black by 2012-13, on time, as promised.

The alternative—meandering back to surplus—would compound the pressures in our economy and push up the cost of living for pensioners and working people.

Why is the government, in its own words, pushing up the cost of living for pensioners and working people by breaking its promise to deliver a surplus this year?