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

The net debt figures are laid out in the budget papers, and they are a function of the calculations that Treasury and Finance undertake. The peak net debt is in 2011-12 at 7.2 per cent of GDP and, as I said, this is a level less than a 10th of the average of the major advanced economies. But if the senator cares about debt levels—and he appears to—then he should be pressuring and demanding that his shadow Treasurer and his leader lay out their path for a return to surplus, because if he does not and if they do not then we will know that what Mr Hockey and Mr Abbott really stand for is wrecking the surplus through opposing savings measures that the government is putting in place. That is what you will be known for, and no amount of rhetoric will get you out of that particular bind. (Time expired)