Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Abetz. I ask whether the minister can confirm that the Prime Minister made the following statement last week in his courtyard, and I quote:

... a ratio of debt to GDP at about 50 or 60 per cent … is a pretty good result looking around the world …

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

As is the wont of the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate—the worst finance minister Australia has ever had—and the Australian Labor Party, they seek to take words out of context. In the courtyard, the Prime Minister gave a media conference and, during the course of that conference, he indicated the debt trajectory that the former finance minister left this country and the coalition to fix up to protect future generations. The debt trajectory that Senator Wong and her colleagues had the Australian budget on would have seen a debt trajectory way above that which we are now looking at. It was in that context that he said that a substantial decline from Labor's trajectory to what it current is—

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order on direct relevance to the question. We are getting a lot of background, but it was a very clear question: did the Prime Minister say the words 'a ratio of debt to GDP at about 50 or 60 per cent is a pretty good result looking around the world'? I actually let the clock run until more than half the answer was given.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Moore. I do believe that, just before coming to your feet, the minister was about to directly answer that. So I think we are about to find out.

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

Seeking to pick out a few words from a general statement or from a paragraph is as disingenuous as you can get. A party that told the Australian people that the deficit in their last budget would be $18 billion, which blew out to $48 billion, now trying to lecture us as to good economic stewardship is absolutely unacceptable from our point of view.

Claire Moore (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I rise on a point of order again on direct relevance to the specific question—in no way lecturing; just wanting to know whether that statement was correct or not.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Moore. I will remind the minister of the question. The minister has 24 seconds in which to answer.

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

We know the games that those opposite play in trying to pick out a few words in relation to a whole host of words, taking them out of context and then trying to spin them in a manner that would misrepresent that which was being asserted. So just as Mr Shorten said that 2015 would be the year of ideas, does not mean Labor has never had any ideas. (Time expired)

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Can the minister confirm that the Prime Minister said yesterday in question time when this same quote was put to him, 'I never said that. I never said that'? Can the minister explain why the Prime Minister denied the truth?

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

I am sure the Hansard of the House of Representatives speaks for itself.

Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was a press conference.

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

Mr President, it was not a press conference—to deal with the silly interjection from Senator Conroy. I was asked about what the Prime Minister had said during question time yesterday. That is the fact. That is the question—that is, unless Senator Wong gone on a frolic of her own in asking this question without your permission, Senator Conroy. I do not know whether or not that is the case.

What I can say to you in response to the question is that I am sure the House of Representatives Hansard will speak for itself as to what the Prime Minister said. And, if it needs correction, I am sure the Prime Minister's office will deal with it. I do not know what the Prime Minister said yesterday but, if it was said in the House, I have no doubt that Hansard captured it. (Time expired)

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a further supplementary question. Is the Prime Minister's claim yesterday 'I never said that. I never said that.' as honest as his claim before the election that there would be 'no cuts to education; no cuts to health; no changes to the pension; no changes to the GST; and no cuts to the ABC or SBS'? How can the Australian people trust anything that this Prime Minister says?

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

That question comes from the former minister and her party that promised the Australian people that there would be no carbon tax; from a government that promised that they would turn back the boats and then never did! Senator Wong, who promised a budget deficit of $18 billion and then let it blow out to $48 billion, hardly has any credibility in this space.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He is a liar.

Stephen Parry (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Wong, you will have to withdraw that.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw.

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

That is the first decent thing the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate has said this question time, and I congratulate her for it.

We as a government are determined to do the right thing by the Australian people. And when Labor goes to the election promising $5 billion worth of cuts to help the budget situation, and we then put that before the Australian people and Labor votes against it— (Time expired)