Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Hansard source

I reject the assertions made by Senator Bishop in his question. As I said in my first statement—and again we have the problem where people just ask the supplementary without listening to the answer to the question—the decision was not rushed. This has been under consideration by the government for quite some time. My department was properly involved in the detailed costing of the alternatives and the options available to the government. The Department of Finance and Administration and I were certainly not out of the loop. The finance department was actively involved, as was I, in the NSC making this very important final decision. As I said, I am delighted that, as finance minister, I am part of the economic team which has ensured that the finances of this government are superior to almost any country in the Western world, with nine surpluses out of 11 budgets and the repayment of $96 billion of debt. Consistent one per cent of GDP surpluses have ensured that we are in a position to make this critical investment in the defence of Australia. (Time expired)