Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

It is true that those opposite have opposed those measures. They have opposed $5 billion worth in those types of measures alone. But, when I go to what they did in government, I read something very different, because in government Labor put through more than $15 billion worth of savings on family tax benefits. What were they in? There was $7 billion in pausing indexation of thresholds and supplements in 2008-09. The member for Lilley will remember that. There was $7 billion worth of savings that came from that. In 2009-10 there was $6 billion worth of savings in indexing the family tax benefit to CPI—something that is considered by those opposite to now be unconscionable. And there was $2½ billion in the 2013-14 budget to cancel payment increases that were going forward. So they opposed $5 billion worth of family tax benefit savings that this government was trying to do to put the budget back on an even keel, but they put through $15 billion when they were in government. And do you know how they were able to do that, Madam Speaker? Because they had an opposition who were prepared to understand the fiscal challenges that the country faced. Now we do not have that in those opposite.

I am asked what the alternatives are that have been put forward. The truth is, from those opposite when it comes to alternative savings, there has been zero—absolutely zero. The Leader of the Opposition has said that this is 'the year of ideas'. There is not a light bulb going off in the head of anyone opposite when it comes to ideas on how to solve the budget. The Leader of the Opposition thinks the year of the idea is about going out to buy flat-pack Swedish furniture somewhere. It is not Ikea; it is ideas! That is what we need. What we know is that the Leader of the Opposition's policy is about unfunded empathy. He runs around the country empathising with every problem. He comes up with not one solution and not one dollar to pay for it. There is not a light bulb over your head, Leader of the Opposition. You have not had an idea in a long time.

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