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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Before the election, the Prime Minister promised Australians: no change to pensions. But the Prime Minister has since cut the indexation of pensions and will force Australians to work until 70 years of age—the oldest retirement age in the world. Why did the Prime Minister yesterday make the bizarre claim that there are no broken promises in his rotten budget?

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will take no notice of the penultimate word.

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

There are no changes to pensions in this term of parliament. It is as simple as that. There are no changes to pensions in this term of parliament. If the Australian people do not like what this government has proposed, they can take the appropriate action at the ballot box at the next election. I will tell you what this government is doing and why this is a budget that is honest and necessary for our country at this time. This government is outlining a clear plan to fix Labor's debt and deficit disaster.

We have demonstrated exactly what we propose to do to deal with the mess that Labor created. Now it is up to Labor to demonstrate what it will do to fix up the mess that it created. If Labor thinks that there is something fundamentally wrong about applying to pensions the indexation rate that they applied to the Family Tax Benefit—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Jagajaga will desist.

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

If Labor thinks that there is something fundamentally wrong with that, then they should tell us what they are going to do. They should tell us what they are going to do to fix up the Labor debt and deficit disaster, because, Madam Speaker, it is absolutely crystal clear, as things stand, that members opposite think there was no problem—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Sydney will desist.

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

with debt and deficit and there was no problem with broken promises—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Lingiari will also desist.

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

They are living in a fantasy world, that is what they are doing. As the Treasurer pointed out earlier today in question time, even John Edwards—a long-term Labor staffer, a long-term friend of the Labor Party and a decent human being, it has to be said, but someone whom Labor appointed to the Reserve Bank Board—has come out and said, 'Honestly, there is a budget crisis.' John Edwards is right: there is a budget crisis. We accept that; we have put out our plan to deal with it; and it is high time that members opposite woke up to reality and told us exactly what their plan is.