Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Education) Share this | Hansard source

I mean that most sincerely! He has a tremendous grasp of economic issues, and I know that he would back me up with everything I am saying. We are left with the situation now where I think that there was around $70 billion in net Commonwealth assets when the coalition left office in 2007. Since then, Labor has delivered the four largest budget deficits in Australia's history and the list just goes on and on.

In 2012-13—and I am going to refer to my notes because I want to get this absolutely right—the government will be spending around $100 billion a year more than in the last Howard-Costello budget. Interest payments on Labor's debt are running at $22 million a day which, interestingly, colleagues, equates to about $300,000 in the 20 minutes that I am going to be speaking. These are facts that the government cannot get away from. Interest payments on Labor's debts since 1 July 2009 are $15 billion; $15 billion—that was a 'b', not an 'm'—'b' for billion. It is interesting, colleagues, isn't it? Labor often talks about budget surpluses but it has not delivered one for more than 20 years. Again, probably back when I was 16!