Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

There is an enduring theme in the speeches from this side of the House, and that is basically around the Rudd and Gillard governments' legacy of debt and deficit. That is something that nobody can get away from. It does not matter which way you spin it or which way you twist it or turn it; we have seen a series of budget mismanagements and budget deficits and what unfortunately has become intergenerational fiscal debt. We are told that gross debt will peak at over $667 billion thanks to the $123 billion in accumulated deficits. We have seen a projected deficit ahead of us of $47 billion.

The one thing that the Labor Party could not achieve in government was that very elusive budget surplus. They talked about it but they never actually delivered it. They claimed they delivered it, but they never did.

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