Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. I refer to the fact that in just two months since the last election the Prime Minister has proposed almost doubling the debt rather than cutting the debt, increased the deficit rather than cut the deficit, hindered rather than helped our relationship with Indonesia, hidden the boats rather than turned back the boats. Why isn't the Prime Minister delivering the government he promised voters he would at the election?

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

I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question, and I can inform him—and I can inform this parliament and the Australian people—that this is a government that is carefully, steadily, purposefully and methodically implementing the commitments that we made to the Australian people at the election. That is precisely what we are doing. We said we would stop the boats, and they are stopping. We said we would get the budget under control, and that is happening, through the Commission of Audit. We said we would build the infrastructure of the 21st century, and that is precisely what we will be doing, in conjunction with the states and territories.

Most importantly, we said we would scrap the toxic taxes the members opposite put in place, and that is precisely what we will do. We will get rid of the toxic taxes that members opposite put in place without any mandate whatsoever. We have an absolutely clear mandate to repeal the carbon tax, to repeal the mining tax, and that is precisely what we will do.