Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

The budget that we set out just a few months ago is designed to bring about the restoration of the Australian economy, which in turn will provide the social dividends that we believe will flow. The simple fact is that, as we speak, we are borrowing $1,000 million per month just to pay the interest on the existing loans. What we are doing in our budgetary strategy is to slow down that trajectory of deficit and debt that the Labor Party and Greens had us on, to ensure that we then get to a surplus situation. It is only when we are in surplus that we start paying down the debt. As a result, what we have been saying is that we do have to curtail our expenditure so we do not engage— (Time expired)