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

Thank you, Senator Whiteaker. Australians will see that under this government debt is lower, deficits are small and the budget bottom line is stronger. The bottom line will be $44.9 billion stronger than forecast at MYEFO, more than a quarter of a trillion dollars better off than what we inherited in 2022 from those opposite. The senator speaks about why it is we need a stronger budget, and it is, of course, to secure our future and to be able to fund the services Australians rely on today and beyond.

As I was saying before, this budget will also ensure we see strengthened Medicare, new drugs on the PBS, an additional $25 billion in funding for public hospitals and $3 billion for better aged care as well as additional funding to deliver a further defence capability. So it is a budget that is about making sure we are stronger today and, as importantly, strong in the future.