Mr ABBOTT (Warringah—Prime Minister) (14:24): Members opposite think that government could just go on borrowing and borrowing to pay benefits but the country simply could not afford it. Dr Chalmers interjecting— The SPEAKER: The member for Rankin, I remind, there is a general warning. Mr ABBOTT: The spending spree of the Labor Party means that every single Australian— Ms Owens interjecting— The SPEAKER: I remind similarly the member for Parramatta. Mr ABBOTT: including the family that the shadow minister referred to in her question, is contributing to $1 billion a month—in dead money—in interest repayments on Labor's borrowing. This is the difficulty that eventually had to be tackled and it has been tackled by this government. This is a government which has had the decency and the honesty to face up to the debt and deficit disaster that we inherited from the former government, from members opposite. Ms Macklin: Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order: relevance. I remind the Prime Minister that these are John Howard's family tax benefit supplements. The SPEAKER: There is no point of order. Resume your seat. Mr ABBOTT: Members opposite need to get real and they need to understand that we cannot and could not go on forever on borrowed money. Dr Chalmers interjecting— The SPEAKER: The member for Rankin will remove himself under standing order 94(a). The member for Rankin then left the chamber. Mr ABBOTT: We simply could not go on under the policies of members opposite borrowing more and more every month because we were going deeper and deeper into deficit every month. This government has taken the tough decisions. We have made the hard decisions necessary to get the budget back under control and to bring the budget back into balance within four years. Someone had to do it. Members opposite have proven incapable of doing it. This government has done what this country needed to be done. Notwithstanding all the changes that this government has made, we will continue to have a generous social security system. A sole parent with two dependants aged six to 13 years earning $60,000 a year in 2016-17 will get $8,348 from the taxpayer in social security benefits. So we are continuing to generously support the vulnerable families of this country. That is what the people expect of us, but we have got to do it in ways which are sustainable—and that was never going to happen under members opposite.