Senator ABETZ (Tasmania—Leader of the Government in the Senate, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service and Minister for Employment) (14:01): 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— Senator Moore: 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. The PRESIDENT: 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. Senator ABETZ: 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. Senator Moore: 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. The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Moore. I will remind the minister of the question. The minister has 24 seconds in which to answer. Senator ABETZ: 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)