Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

Budgets and policies are about choices. The $500 million additional savings in the 2015-16 budget are on top of the $30 billion of savings over the forward estimates. This is money that could be better invested in supporting the priorities of Australian families, which we will have more to say about later this week. But, from a Tasmanian perspective, every dollar spent on the Pontville detention centre was a missed opportunity to invest that money in upgrading the Midland Highway or the Hobart airport or in funding irrigation schemes. These are all things this government is able to deliver as a result of better management of taxpayers' dollars. Make no mistake: every single dollar that was wasted by Labor propping up the criminal people smugglers was a dollar not able to be spent on education, health, roads or the people of Tasmania.