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

The budget will lay out the pathway to both surplus and the repayment of net debt. I make this point: if the opposition are putting to the Australian people that they would—to use Senator Joyce's point—pay off debt earlier and return to surplus earlier, why do they not come in here and tell people what they will cut? What cuts will they make on top of the pension cuts they want to put in place, on top of the cuts to family tax benefit they want to put in place and on top of the increases to income tax paid by every low-income earner in Australia they want to put in place? If you are so serious about paying off debt, why do you not have the guts to come in here and tell Australians what you would cut? I bet you will not do that. In fact, I bet you do not even know.