Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I listened very carefully to what the shadow Treasurer had to say on this matter of public importance. Unfortunately, he tended to vindicate what one anonymous senior staffer said at Menzies House: that the shadow Treasurer, if he ever became Treasurer, would be an incredible stain on the Liberal Party.

I find that the Liberal Party and indeed its country branch allies, the National Party, have never seen a myth they do not like to exaggerate. I was listening carefully to what the shadow Treasurer had to say. As I listened to him try to pretend that Australia is not in fact an OECD nation that is doing far better than other nations in the OECD, I was reminded of the Liberal Party's ongoing commitment to untruths. I was reminded of the weapons of mass destruction that we never found, I was reminded of the children overboard and I was reminded of Work Choices.

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