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

Whilst the member for Hunter is in the House, I will note that the photograph was published on the web on Fairfax's site. That was the source of the photo.

The parlous state of the government's budget is obviously back in the headlines—and so it should be. We all know the story—the four biggest budget deficits in modern Australian history, totalling $174 billion; a massive blow-out in spending, with the government this year spending $100 billion more than the last year of the coalition government; a massive increase in debt, with the $70 billion the coalition left in net assets being turned into a projected $145 billion of net debt; and an interest bill on gross debt of $12 billion a year.

Madam Deputy Speaker, if the member for Lyne and the minister want to negotiate, they are perfectly entitled to do so outside this place.

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