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

I will cop that on the chin. As you know, I can do that—which is something you might want to mention to Senator Brandis on occasion. Cuts that are on the list, which, according to the IPA, are the sorts of things that shadow ministers and the coalition think are a good idea, include: the cancellation of the first stage of the National Disability Insurance Scheme—a bill that I understand the Senate will be debating shortly; the abolition of Fair Work Australia and Safe Work Australia; a reduction in the general research budget by 40 per cent; cutting all Commonwealth housing programs; cutting all foreign aid, excluding emergency aid; and privatising the ABC. These savings amount to $23.5 billion and they give an insight into the sorts of drastic cuts that are being contemplated by the coalition in order to fill their $70 billion budget black hole. The sadness, and the outrage, is that a party that wish to form government are refusing to tell the Australian people the truth about what their plans are. I think Australians are entitled to know that.

This bill, as I said, seeks appropriation authority from the parliament to provide expenditure on the ordinary annual services of government in the terms that I have outlined. I commend the bills to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bills read a second time.