Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. He understands very well the importance to the families in his electorate of the government delivering and securing the vital services they need—the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Medicare, schools, education—and ensuring they are paid for. And that is what we have done. Unlike Labor, which made wild promises and did not fund them, every commitment we have made in our budget is fully funded and paid for. We have taken the tough decisions to ensure that we bring the budget back into balance.

There is no fairness in throwing a mountain of debt on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren. There is no fairness in putting our AAA credit rating at risk by running endless deficits. The budget has to be brought back into balance, and that has meant we have taken some tough decisions. And yes, we have imposed a new tax on the major banks. We have done that to raise the money to bring the budget back into balance. And we are increasing the Medicare levy by half a per cent to fully fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The same arguments of fairness and equity that the Labor Party addressed to the House years ago when Julia Gillard increased the Medicare levy to partially fund the NDIS by half a per cent are even more potent today—because this change will actually pay for it. We will be able to look into the eyes of parents and children with disabilities with compassion and love but also with the commitment that comes from knowing the money will be there, now and forever, to fund the services they need.

The only consistency we get from the Leader of the Opposition is inconsistency. Every position he takes is a reversal of one he took before. He condemns, and wants to repeal, company tax cuts; only a few years ago, he said lower business tax increases productivity, investment and employment. He has now voted against needs-based funding for Australian schools in accordance with David Gonski's recommendation; only a few years ago, he advocated that.

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