Alan Eggleston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Senator Wong. Can the minister confirm that the cost of asylum-seeker management has blown out by a further $1.75 billion, according to the estimates in last night's budget, while at the same time Labor is cutting $2 billion from support for working families? Why should struggling Australians pay the price for Labor's inability to manage our borders?

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

It is the case that there has been an increase in this budget for the cost of dealing with asylum seekers. We know that management of our borders does cost money. We know that detention arrangements do cost money, as they did under the previous government. We have made appropriate provision for that, and it is the appropriate thing to do to ensure that we manage Australia's borders in the way that is expected.

In relation to family payments, I would make a number of comments. This government has been a strong supporter of family payments. This government took to the last election the policy to extend a higher level of family tax benefits to families with teenagers who were still in study and in training. We think that is a sensible policy that will mean more families get higher levels of support through the family payment system. That policy was fully funded, fully costed and has been provisioned for in last night's budget. If the opposition want to complain about measures we have taken to target the family payment system to ensure it is more sustainable, I hope the opposition will live up to its own rhetoric and point to what other savings it would put forward if it wishes to oppose those measures. The opposition cannot keep getting away with opposing savings— (Time expired)

Alan Eggleston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, why did your government freeze the indexation of key family payments and income thresholds to pay for Labor's failed border protection policies?

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

The Treasurer is a very strong supporter of the family payments system. This government supports the family payment system. We also support it being sustainable.

Opposition Senators:

Opposition senators interjecting—

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

Here we have the hypocrisy on the opposition side. On the one hand we have Senator Cormann wanting to be tough—'You haven't been tough enough'—and then you have Senator Eggleston and others who are interjecting on that side saying that we should not put in place measures to better target family payments so that they are more sustainable into the future. You cannot have it both ways. This is the problem that the shadow Treasurer, Mr Hockey has. On the one hand he wants a bigger surplus and wants it earlier, but he is opposing savings. The Australian people are entitled to something a little more coherent from the alternative government than the complete mess they are presenting in response to this budget.

Alan Eggleston (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Minister, how much of the money taken from Australian families to pay for the cost blow-out in border protection could have been saved if the Prime Minister had swallowed her pride and picked up the phone to Nauru?

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

I wonder if the opposition ever chose to cost Mr Abbott's proposition to double the intake of humanitarian asylum seekers post the last election. I do not see that appearing anywhere in their election costings or subsequently. I think people know, if they are watching this question time, the sorts of politics that are being played on the other side and they know this: there is no sensible response to the opposition as yet on this budget—a budget which is very important for Australia's future; a budget that brings the budget back to black; a budget which is focused on creating jobs, training more people for jobs and getting more people into jobs. That is what this budget is about. But what do we see from the other side? Absolutely nothing. (Time expired)

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.