Hockey's first budget deficit is a whooper - $48.5billion

End of last financial year when Labor was still in office, the budget projection for this financial year was a deficit of $30 billion. Two months later Abbott took control with SSJoe at the financial helm. 

Now SSJoe, even though he's been there for nearly all of this financial year, has blamed Labor for the deficit. *pfffffft*

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen and opposition finance spokesman Tony Burke hit back at the Treasurer's claims. 

They said the Abbott government was responsible for the decline, having been in control of the budget since September last year. 

"Last time we checked, the Abbott government has been responsible for budget and economic policy since September 2013. That's 75 per cent of the 2013-14 financial year," they said. 

Labor said that under the Abbott government the deficit had deteriorated from $30.1 billion in the pre-election economic and fiscal outlook to $48.5 billion. 

"Of the $18.4 billion blow-out, over half - $10.8 billion – is due to policy decisions taken by the Abbott government, including the $8.8 billion grant to the Reserve Bank of Australia," Mr Bowen and Mr Burke said. Read more