The simple fact is, if the unions had accepted the sensible wage freeze that was proposed, no teacher would have lost their job.

The additional 500 job losses are the unions’ fault.

The $400 million in election commitments that are referred to include funding for Gonski, $76 million for elective surgery and funding for additional police. The unions’ arguments are nonsensical – on the one hand they claim they want more investment in frontline services, yet in the same breath they say they oppose it.

Peter Gutwein, Treasurer