Labor's leader Bill Shorten accused the government of avoiding scrutiny of its spending policies.
“What they didn't win in the election is the right to run up debt like a drunken sailor and simply to just say: trust us,” Shorten told reporters.
Abbott said the latest Treasury forecast was that debt would peak “significantly in excess of AU$400 billion.” He blamed overspending by the previous Labor government for Australia's deteriorating balance sheet.
“The only way we can absolutely be confident that Labor's debt legacy has been finally put in the past is by doing it this way,” said Abbott, referring to his proposed AU$200 billion hike in the debt limit.
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