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

We inherited a legacy of debt and deficit from Labor as far as the eye could see. Every single day the Australian government is spending $100 million more than it collects in revenue. And every single day we have to go and borrow that money. We do not get back to a surplus; we do not live within our means until we start to reduce our expenditure without imposing a raft of new taxes on the Australian people.

You have to deal with the facts as they stand—something that the member for McMahon does not understand. We know he does not understand his facts, and nothing illustrates it better than these words from 2010:

…the Government has returned the budget to surplus three years ahead of schedule and ahead of any other major economy…

He was claiming credit for a surplus that was never delivered. In fact in that year, the then government—

Mr Bowen interjecting—

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