Mr BEAZLEY —My question is to the Treasurer. Did your pre-election social security policy state that `under a coalition government the pension benchmark of at least 25 per cent of AWE will be maintained'? Did the Prime Minister on radio 2GB on 19 April say:

Now we are not going to muck around with the levels of pensions or their automatic indexation.

If you are not going to muck around with the levels of pensions, why did your deputy secretary write to the National Commission of Audit on 16 April saying that the Prime Minister, Treasurer and Minister for Finance had met. They suggested that the 25 per cent of AWE issue be considered by the NCA and that `in particular the ministers wanted the NCA to examine which particular measure of AWE was the most appropriate'?

Mr COSTELLO —Let me make it entirely clear, as I have already, that the National Commission of Audit has done valuable work in reporting to the government. The govern ment does not automatically accept every recommendation that it makes. The government decides its own policy. The government reserves that right and the government always will. The government will be making policy decisions.

Let me also say that we are not afraid of information. We are not afraid of raising issues. Let me commend the work of the National Commission of Audit in relation to the medium and long term. Every now and then it is important in politics to look further than Christmas. In relation to the demographic changes, they have had a look at a number of factors which a government—any government—will have to face up to. The important thing is that every now and then a sober assessment is made to the public so that the public knows the situation that the Commonwealth finds itself in.

Unhappily, the situation that the Commonwealth finds itself in is very much the worse as a result of your maladministration over the last 13 years—very much the worse. It is very much the worse because you proposed to run deficit after deficit, about $70 billion to $80 billion of deficits since 1990-91—about $70 billion of underlying deficit after 19 quarters of economic growth. Nothing could be more a testament to your maladministration and failure. It is important that the Australian public is given the truth and we welcome the opportunity of the National Commission of Audit to do that.