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

My question is to the Prime Minister. Now that the Prime Minister has made a strategic retreat on his unfair plan to cut pension indexation, will the Prime Minister finally acknowledge that this harsh cut will never pass through the parliament? Will he rule out including it as a saving in his government's Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook?

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

Again I remind the Leader of the Opposition of his statement to his own constituents—

Mr Husic interjecting—

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

The member for Chifley will desist—

Mr Bowen interjecting—

as will the member for McMahon. You are warned.

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

back in 2012: 'a budget surplus for a strong economy'. What we are attempting to do is to save Australia from the debt and deficit disaster that members opposite created. Time and time again they promised to deliver a surplus, because they know a surplus is necessary, but they absolutely failed to back their words with deeds. We will deliver, and if we find ourselves blocked in one way we will find other ways to succeed.

If there has been any backdown at all in the last 24 hours, it is Labor's backdown in now voting unanimously for $2.7 billion of our welfare savings today. So we have got $2.7 billion of extra savings today. We will go for the rest of our budget savings in coming weeks.

As for indexation of the pension, we want to continue indexing the pension. Under our proposals the pension will go up every six months every year. It will go up by the same indexation rate that Labor thinks it is fair and reasonable for family tax benefit. If it is fair and reasonable for family tax benefit, it is fair and reasonable for other social security benefits. What we will do is make the system sustainable so that we can be a strong and prosperous economy far into the future. That is what we are doing, we are tackling purposefully, methodically the debt and deficit disaster that the Labor Party left us. That is what the people voted for. They voted for us to tackle the debt and deficit disaster and we will not let them down.