QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator WONG (South Australia—Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:15): Thank you, Senator Whiteaker. Australians will see that under this government debt is lower, deficits are small and the budget bottom line is stronger. The bottom line will be $44.9 billion stronger than forecast at MYEFO, more than a quarter of a trillion dollars better off than what we inherited in 2022 from those opposite.

The senator speaks about why it is we need a stronger budget, and it is, of course, to secure our future and to be able to fund the services Australians rely on today and beyond. As I was saying before, this budget will also ensure we see strengthened Medicare, new drugs on the PBS, an additional $25 billion in funding for public hospitals and $3 billion for better aged care as well as additional funding to deliver a further defence capability.

So it is a budget that is about making sure we are stronger today and, as importantly, strong in the future. The PRESIDENT: Senator Whiteaker, second supplementary.