Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

There is no Labor budget that made the commitment that the Leader of the Opposition refers to. This was a pie-in-the-sky, undeliverable promise from the Labor Party, that was never contained in any single budget. When it comes to schools, let me be very clear, there is an eight per cent increase this year, an eight per cent increase next year, an eight per cent increase the year after that, and a six per cent increase in the final year. When it comes to public hospitals, there is a nine per cent increase this year, a nine per cent increase next year, a nine per cent increase the year after that, and a six per cent increase in the final year.

Honourable members interjecting—

On the question of indexation, members opposite changed the indexation of the family tax benefit from male total average weekly earnings to CPI. Members opposite demonstrated by their actions that the CPI is a fair indexation system. If it was fair for members opposite to do it for the family tax benefit, it is fair for this government to do it to other benefits. If it was fair for Labor to do it, it is fair for the coalition to do it. This is a fair budget, an honest budget, and above all else, it is the right budget for Australia because it deals with Labor's debt and deficit disaster. We have our plan to deal with Labor's debt and deficit disaster. We have demonstrated how we are going to clean up Labor's mess. It is about time that Labor demonstrated how they will clean up the mess they created.

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