Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

On budget night the shadow Treasurer was asked this question by David Speers:

If you had been standing at the dispatch box tonight, would you have gone further with deeper spending cuts?

Do you know what the shadow Treasurer said? He said:

Look, I cannot comment on that.

The once great hope of the Liberal Party—but he could not comment on that, on budget night. The great white hope of the Liberal Party had nothing to say—no alternative framework, no suggestions for savings, no suggestions for fiscal policy whatsoever.

He was also asked on 14 May this question by Mr Neil Mitchell:

Is this your last budget as shadow Treasurer?

Mr Turnbull:

Well, we’ll see.

Yes, we will see! We will see whether the Liberal Party has an alternative economic framework tonight, because what is apparent from what they have had to say is that they are the party of high spending, high taxation and high inflation.

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