Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

with its associated expenditure to reduce government expenditure by $13 billion and reduce the debt. We said we were going to get rid of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to reduce government debt. We also said that we were going to make the decisions that needed to be made to fix up the budget and start to live within our means.

Of course, we were left with a legacy from Labor of a $370 billion forecast peak debt, with a $300 billion debt limit. That is the way Labor are. Labor always leave their problems to other people. They are always inconsistent. They say one thing before an election and something else afterwards. There is no better instance of this—

An opposition member interjecting—

Hang in there, China, I know you've only got three years to go!

Senator Kim Carr put out a press release saying that Labor was so committed to the education cuts before the election that they are going to oppose them after the election! Labor is going to oppose their own education cuts, which they took to the last election. You might say that that is pretty absurd, but before the election Labor said they were going to terminate the carbon tax. Now, after the election, they say that they are so going to terminate the carbon tax that they are going to block it! They are going to block the termination of the carbon tax. I thought to myself, 'Hang on, Labor is saying one thing before the election and then voting against it afterwards. Surely, Labor could not be inconsistent?' Then I picked up the new budget paper from the South Australian government. I looked at page 28, which says that the Labor government in South Australia is booking $32 million from the removal of the carbon tax. So Labor says one thing before the election and another thing afterwards. But don't worry, they will bank the money that does not exist.

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