Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) | Hansard source

The short answer to that, Senator, is no, and we've sort of moved from off budget to the UCB and then back to debt figures in that question. And I note that Senator Hume didn't ask that question; you might ask why! I think she would have framed it perhaps in a way that was more reflective of the budget parameters. But what I would say to you, Senator Ruston, is that we saw the debt figures when we came to government. We saw the deficit figures when we came to government. We also saw the 'Back in black' mugs—remember them? What I would say to you is that we've seen a couple of surpluses, debt being paid down and less interest being paid by Australians.

It is the case that we are in a challenging economic environment. What we will not do is deal with that by cutting wages, by cutting Medicare and by funding an expensive nuclear gamble off-budget. (Time expired)