Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I do apologise. We should not engage in levity in this chamber. I accept that. The point this government made—over and over again—before the election is that this country could not afford cash splashes with borrowed money. What this government has done is ensure that periodic payments, occasional payments, that this country can no longer afford—such as the schoolkids bonus, such as the low-income supplement and such as the seniors supplement—are no longer being paid. I believe that the decent people of this country do understand, even those who are doing it tough, that the government cannot go on loading up our children and grandchildren with unsustainable debts.

I notice that members opposite have stopped waving around the budget, because they did not like having in their hands the solution to the problem they created.

Opposition members interjecting—

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