Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Deputy Leader of the Opposition for her question. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition—and indeed all members of the House—need to grapple with the facts and what the facts mean for the government's budget position and would mean for anyone who was in government at this period of time. You cannot wish away the facts, and what the facts mean is that, since the budget was last delivered, we have seen the amount of revenue tax money expected to be received by the government go down by $17 billion. In those circumstances the government is making responsible savings. As I indicated to the Australian people when I spoke about this matter a few weeks ago, these decisions are grave and weighty ones, but we are determined to take the right decisions to ensure that we have a focus on jobs and growth, that we chart a pathway to surplus and that we are making the smart investments necessary for the nation's future. That is the approach that the government has taken, and of course on election day Australians will have the opportunity to judge that approach versus the approach of the opposition to cut to the bone. I note that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition did not come to the dispatch box and spruik about the opposition's plan to rip away the Schoolkids Bonus from Australian families, to make Australian families with school children worse off and to take the money out of their purses and wallets that they are using to support the costs of getting the kids to school. I note that she did not come to the dispatch box and say that they are planning to put up tax. They want people to pay more tax, particularly working women, because, whilst we have increased the tax-free threshold so a million Australians have come out of the tax system, so that you do not pay tax now until you earn more than $18,200—

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