Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, given that the Treasurer has spectacularly failed to justify his unfair budget, given that the Treasurer is threatening to hurt Australians even more if he does not get his way in the Senate and given that senior Liberals are now questioning the Treasurer's judgement, does the Treasurer still have the confidence of the Prime Minister or will the Treasurer be another victim of this unfair budget?

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

I do thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question because it gives me an opportunity to say that I am proud of this Treasurer. The government is proud of this Treasurer and, frankly, the country should be pleased and grateful that at last we have a Treasurer who is serious about delivering a debt and deficit repair job that so completely eluded members opposite when they were in government.

No-one said that it would be easy to cure the debt and deficit disaster that this government has inherited. No-one said it was going to be easy to deal with the decade of debt and deficit that members opposite gave to this country, but I am proud and honoured to have as my colleague the member for North Sydney, the Treasurer of Australia, who has done so much already to restore this country to economic health. What the Australian people understand is that governments, like families and like businesses, cannot continue to live beyond their means. The Australian people understand that members opposite ran up the six biggest deficits in our history when they were in government. They left this government a legacy of $123 billion in prospective deficits. They gave every Australian man, woman and child a prospective debt of $25,000. That is what the people of Australia understand. They know that the rescue package is being put into place by this government, by this Prime Minister and, above all else, by this Treasurer. Thank you, Joe Hockey.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I realise it is the last day of the sitting, but I will not tolerate the caterwauling that is going. It means that the ringleaders of that degree of caterwauling will leave quickly. There is a general warning in place. I call the honourable member for Bennelong.