Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

And so she could keep her job, as pointed out by my colleague. We cannot trust this government. This $120-billion black hole comes at the worst possible time. It comes at a time in our domestic environment where we know the retail and manufacturing sectors are hurting. We know that families are under increased stress, that cost of living is one of the biggest issues that families are facing and that small businesses are finding it really tough.

We know that overseas the financial crisis has not passed. In fact, the financial crisis we see in Greece and in France has morphed into a social crisis. I note that we hear constant refrains from the other side that Australia is doing well when you compare us to France and when you compare us to Greece. But they only want to compare us to the worst-performing economies. They only ever want to make that comparison.

This $120-billion black hole comes at a time where commodity prices are down 30 per cent over a 12-month period. We are seeing a huge revenue shortfall because of that. We are seeing company tax receipts being reduced and yet the government continues to spend and refuses to say how it will be paid for. There is a better way. We know from experience that a coalition government can right the wrongs of an irresponsible Labor government. We did it before when we repaid $96 billion of debt. We left a surplus $20 billion and we provided for the future with $70 billion in the Future Fund. The government want to raid that future fund to pay for their spending. There is a better way and that is with the election of a coalition government. (Time expired)

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