TREASURER:
Mr Turnbull made a number of claims about economic leadership that are completely unfounded. He has never said to me, or to the Cabinet, that we are heading in the wrong economic direction. The disloyalty of some has been outrageous. We have an economic plan that is being delivered and is working, an economy that is $68 billion bigger than the one that we inherited. We've abolished five Labor taxes and we collect less tax than if Labor were in government. We've improved the Budget bottom line by $50 billion, negotiated three free trade agreements, delivered over $50 billion of new infrastructure, but most importantly of all, 300,000 new jobs in Australia since we were elected. Jobs growth is running at 10 times the rate per month that we inherited from Labor. The position of Prime Minister is a gift of you - the Australian people. You have the right to hire and only you have the right to fire. We cannot - we must not - become a carbon copy of the Labor Party. We cannot - and we must not - make the same mistakes that were made in the Rudd and Gillard years. The Australian people deserve better. We must put the national interest ahead of any self-interest. The Prime Minister has my absolute loyalty as I have his. Thank you very much.