Mr HOCKEY (North Sydney—The Treasurer) (14:24): I thank the honourable member for his question. I wish he would not vote against the appropriation bills; I wish he would not do that, notwithstanding the fact that the opposition is obviously not going to block supply, as it is commonly known. And why? Because Australians expect stable government, no matter who it is. They expect stable government. And they expect that the government should be able to engage in appropriations for the best interests of the economy and the best interests of the community. I understand that you are seeking to make a point about the budget, but it is more a political point than a policy point. I wish we would get some constructive policy suggestions from all of those critics, because no-one is offering a credible alternative. In the brief moment I had between a press conference on the national accounts and coming into question time, I managed to hear Bob Hawke. He is a good man, Bob Hawke. Ms Plibersek interjecting— The SPEAKER: The member for Sydney will desist. Mr HOCKEY: He is a real leader of the Labor Party. I bet they wish they had Bob Hawke back! But they do not. Mr Shorten interjecting— The SPEAKER: The honourable the Leader of the Opposition will desist. Mr HOCKEY: Bob Hawke said, 'Sooner or later, an opposition needs to provide alternative policies if they really want to get elected.' The Labor Party created the budget mess. They are doing everything they can to stop us from fixing it. Even they have actually, in part, admitted that there is a budget mess. Old buggerlugs over there, the member for Lilley, confessed to Bob Carr that there is a real budget mess, and of course the Leader of the Opposition suggested there is a real budget 'task'. Government members: A 'task'! Mr HOCKEY: A 'task'! I suggest that is a call to action, in some sort. But there is a budget task. The thing is: the Labor Party is offering no alternative. Indeed, Member for Denison: what is your alternative? What is your alternative to Labor's legacy of $667 billion of debt? What is your alternative to Labor's legacy of deficits as far as the eye can see? What is your alternative to Labor's legacy of unemployment rising to 6¼ per cent—of over 700,000 Australians being unemployed? What are your policy alternatives over there? There are none. And why? Because we have the chief clerk of the national complaints desk here, who is more about complaining than providing an alternative scenario. We know the budget is difficult. We know the budget is tough. The fiscal consolidation is less than budgets we have brought down in previous years, and less than Labor's previous budgets. But the budget is right for Australia and it is right for the Australian economy.