Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

No-one believes it. Here is a Prime Minister that has committed over $200 million a day in new spending initiatives since he was elected, and they are asking us to believe that the deficit will be no worse because they will not have one new major spending initiative between now and 2017. They are a ship of fools. If they believe the Treasurer, who is the navigator on the ship of fools, and if they believe the Prime Minister, who is the captain of the ship of fools, then they deserve their place on that ship.

The challenge for us is to keep this government accountable. The challenge for us is to stand true—which we will do—to our core principles. You should aim to spend only that which you collect, you should aim to create jobs not just for today but for tomorrow, you should be fiscally responsible, and, most importantly of all, you should not leave the next generation of Australians with a level of debt that will be a ball and chain around their legs and will prevent them from seizing the opportunities that the coalition have worked so hard to deliver over 11 years of government.

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