Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Far be it for me to engage in personal slurs, in the same format as used by the Treasurer. Far be it for me to go down that path. I am noting allegations of electoral fraud and an inquiry into electoral fraud that dealt with allegations involving the now Treasurer. I am simply reminding the House in the context of this bill of those events. I am not going into it a great deal. That will be, if necessary—and I hope it is not—for another day. I am reminding the House and the Australian people of the form of the now Treasurer—that is all.

I remind them of an Australian Federal Police investigation into a cash for preferences wrongdoing back in 2001. An Australian Federal Police spokesman said that Mr Swan, who had been stood down from Labor’s frontbench during the investigation, was cleared of allegations that he had paid the Australian Democrats money in a preference deal in 1996. The Federal Police spokesman said:

There will be no further action taken in relation to Wayne Swan. I can’t say there is no case to answer, but no further action will be taken.

The Treasurer is very keen on firing bullets under the cover of parliament—making allegations and, slurring people. He spends a lot of time doing that. But he has history and, when it comes to electoral matters and matters of integrity, there are allegations that have been placed on the record—that have been cleared.

When it comes to playing with the electoral rolls and when it comes to electoral reform, the Labor Party has form. Therefore, we come to this debate very sceptical of the role of the Treasurer, the role of the Labor Party, the links with Mike Kaiser, the history of the Shepherdson inquiry and a range of other events that colour our impressions of whether the government is truly determined to do something about electoral and political fraud.

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