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

This government is determined to fix Labor's debt and deficit disaster, and that is exactly what this budget does. It tackles Labor's debt and deficit disaster; it tackles the fact that Labor had left us with a legacy of $123 billion in cumulative budget deficits and $667 billion in projected debt. Members opposite once thought that a surplus was important. For instance, the Leader of the Opposition said back in 2012:

This month's budget delivers a $1.5 billion surplus.

It didn't, but he went on to say:

Achieving it has meant making some tough calls. A big win in the 2012 budget is the surplus.

He went on to say:

The budget surplus proves beyond doubt that we can afford to be positive.

Well, he might have been positive back in 2012. We have seen precious little positivity from the Leader of the Opposition since the election last year. But he should be positive about this budget because this budget cures the debt and deficit disaster that Labor created. The best thing that members opposite could do with this budget is to say, 'It is the tough medicine we just had to have,' and then our country would go forward on a secure fiscal footing.

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