Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance) (14:31): I thank Senator Kroger for that question. Between now and Christmas the government will be releasing the half-yearly— Opposition senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Senator Cormann, resume your seat. When there is silence we will proceed. If honourable senators wish to debate the issue the time is after three o'clock this afternoon, not now. Honourable senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Senator Conroy, Senator Carr and Senator Ronaldson, order! Senator CORMANN: Thank you very much, Mr President. Senator Wong is clearly very touchy given she presided over a $107 billion blow-out in the budget bottom line over her three short years as minister, as minister for finance. So this side of Christmas the government will be releasing the half-yearly update on Labor's last budget and what it will show is that the savings task is indeed enormous and that is because after six years of Labor our budget was left in a mess. The Labor Party in 2007 inherited a very strong budget position, a $20 billion surplus—no government debt there—$50 billion of cash in the bank, more than $1 billion in the interest payments collected by the Commonwealth on the back of a positive net asset position. And, of course, what happened after six years of Labor: $250 billion worth of accumulated deficits, gross debt heading for $430 and beyond. And, of course, we know now— Honourable senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Senator Cormann, resume your seat. Order! If you wish to debate the issue, the time is after three o'clock. Senator CORMANN: Thank you very much, Mr President. We know now that the figures that Labor released in the pre-election economic statement just before the election were not an accurate representation of the facts. Why do we know that? That is because Senator Wong included a whole range of savings measures, a whole range of Labor cuts, which Labor in opposition are now walking away from. So here we are and Labor present a picture in the pre-election economic statement saying, 'Our deficit now is $30.1 billion this financial year,' after promising a surplus before that. But we have got $5 billion worth of Labor cuts which are integrated into those budget figures Labor released before the election and that they are now walking away from. So $2.3 billion in higher education cuts from the Labor government, $1.1 billion of cuts to research and development from the Labor government, a $1.5 billion saving from not going ahead with the carbon tax— (Time expired)