Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Finance and Deregulation) Share this | Hansard source

There is a range of alternative approaches on the other side. Some of them are quite novel. It might be instructive for senators from the opposition to be aware of just where Mr Hockey is taking them. Mr Hockey has committed to bringing the budget back to surplus by 2011-12. He has done it all by himself but he has committed you to it. He also says he does not want to support the government's savings measures. He is complaining that a number of the measures that the government put forward in last night's budget which will return funds to the budget to help the return to surplus should be opposed. I wonder if opposition senators, who pretend to care about economic and fiscal responsibility, would be aware that they have been put in a position of opposing savings measures but delivering a surplus earlier. It simply does not add up. (Time expired)