Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

On 21 April 2006, Australians celebrated debt-free day. That was the first time in many, many years that Australians were able to wake up to the news that Australia was no longer in debt. The government, after 10 years of sustained, sound economic management, had delivered the nation from the burden of debt. But 3 February 2009 will go down in history as the date on which Labor reimposed a burden of debt upon our great country.

It is very instructive to look at the history and development of the circumstances in which we find ourselves. This chameleon Prime Minister went to the election saying, ‘I am an economic conservative—always have been, always will be.’ At his campaign launch he told the Australian people that the reckless spending of the Howard government must stop. That was only 18 months ago. Indeed, in the May budget, only 10 months ago, Labor said there was an economic imperative to cool down the economy because the Liberals had so deliberately and mischievously overheated the economy. They said that the inflation genie was out of the bottle and that Australia faced the devastation of an overheated economy. To deal with that problem, Labor told us that they had to introduce—and they did introduce—$20 billion worth of new taxes. They took $20 billion out of the economy to cool it down, because it was overheating. How wrong Labor and Mr Rudd have been, time and time again. Today, when we are going into debt to the tune of $200 billion to stimulate the economy, one wonders why $20 billion was taken out of the economy through increased taxation only 10 months ago.

Madam Acting Deputy President, do you remember what our slogan was at the last election?