Andrew Nikolic (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As a watcher of romantic comedies, I can inform the House that the American movie Jerry Maguire will soon celebrate its 20th birthday. Who can forget Jerry Maguire, played by Tom Cruise, being fired by a junior subordinate? Who can forget that famous scene where one of Jerry's clients screams, 'Show me the money'? Well, 20 years on and you would think the Jerry Maguire storyline is repeating itself in this parliament. Tonight the Leader of the Opposition gets to show us the money. Will he support growth, create more local jobs and get the budget back into surplus, or will he revert to the Rudd-Gillard-Milne model of tax and spend? And Australians want to know, if he does not like our savings, what are his savings? How will he compensate for the $17 billion of government revenue measures he is blocking in the Senate? What about the $6.5 billion in savings that Labor themselves initiated but now block? Where will he find the tens of billions to pay for new spending promises like the $18 billion in aid that the member for Sydney has promised? How will he justify his desire to raid the hard-earned superannuation accounts of everyday Australians? When you tally it all up, Labor's spending is an ever-growing black hole of more than $52 billion. So, when the opposition leader stands up tonight to deliver his budget reply, the two key questions on every Australian's lips will be: 'What's your plan, Bill?' and 'Show me the money!'

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