David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Senator Wong. When the minister said this morning that this budget is a 'very Labor budget', was she referring to the fact that net debt is now set to peak at $107 billion next year and will remain above $100 billion for at least the next four years? How does this reconcile with the govern­ment's supposedly 'tight fiscal rules'? Is the minister proud that she has now topped Paul Keating's debt record of $96 billion?