Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Under the last budget, the pre-election outlook of those opposite, in 2022, they had debt crossing the trillion-dollar threshold two years ago. And because of our efforts, because of our surpluses, our spending restraint—banking the upward revisions to revenue—we've been able to delay that by a couple of years and get peak gross debt to GDP down from 45 per cent to 37 per cent. We've got $176 billion less debt than those opposite had, and that's saving the Australian people in interest. So, the idea that we would take lectures on debt from those opposite is preposterous, after the mess they've left us and the efforts we have put in to cleaning up that mess.

Now, I think the question from the member for Fairfax partly explains why, in all the commentary we've seen in recent days about the shambles over there, every long list of possible deputy leaders and shadow Treasurers, the member for Fairfax isn't on it. The member for Fairfax is the only person considered incapable of retaining his spot as the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. But he should take some comfort from the fact that the last guy who failed as shadow Treasurer now considers himself entitled to a promotion.

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