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

and $123 billion of deficits. Something needs to be done about it. Let us debate the fact that they left us with rising unemployment and falling terms of trade, and we need to deal with those things. Let us also have a debate about the fact that Labor left locked-in increases in expenditure over the medium term of 3.7 per cent per year above inflation with an economy that is growing at less than three per cent. Let us have a debate about these things, because they go directly to the quality of life that we are creating for the Australian people. They are the issues that do matter.

Labor has not yet said whether it supports the Medical Research Future Fund, because the only way the Medical Research Future Fund can be created is if there is a co-contribution when people go to visit the doctor. That is because every dollar of savings over the next six years in the health portfolio is going into the Medical Research Future Fund. It is the biggest medical research fund of its kind in the world.

Why we doing this? We are doing this because only through—

Opposition members interjecting—

See this speech in context