Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

I noted with some keen interest the statement by the Leader of the Opposition today in reference to the Secretary to the Treasury. He said that his remarks about the Secretary to the Treasury at the dispatch box the other day were the warmest remarks that he could make about Dr Henry. It is strange that, in the process of this extension of warmth, you threaten to sack them. That is a strange expression of warmth in the part of the world that I come from.

Can I just say to the Leader of the Opposition that, whether it is the Secretary to the Treasury, whether it is the Governor of the Reserve Bank, whether it is ASIC or whether it is the other regulators, the importance of the independence of these financial institutions goes to this country’s long-term economic interest. What we have had here instead from Malcolm Turnbull is a man prepared to slur our economic institutions during a global financial crisis just to pursue his own personal political interests. What we have had here is arrogance. What we have had here is recklessness. What we have had here is a lack of control.

For some time we have said in this place that the Leader of the Opposition is out of touch. Remember what he said about interest rates: a mere 25 basis point increase in interest rates was something which people had become ‘overdramatic’ about. Well, that is out of touch. But the remarkable thing we have seen in the last week is not just out of touch behaviour but behaviour which is, in fact, out of control.

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