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

This motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition must be dealt with urgently because there are around one million Australians in the manufacturing industry who are wondering what this government is doing to them. There are more than one million Australians involved in the retail industry and there are more than one million Australians involved in the hospitality industry and they are wondering what the intentions are of this government. There is a downturn in confidence across Australia as each day passes, as people come to understand that the government has no direction. This is best illustrated by the fact that only today the member for Chifley had the courage to stand at the doors and recognise that there is growing concern in the community, and I praise him for being here for this debate. But I note that so many are missing from his side. We may even move that he has speaking rights at the end of this debate because we recognise that he is a man of courage prepared to stand up for the people in his electorate, the people of Rooty Hill. They are the ones that we are left to stand up for day after day, week after week, and that have been totally abandoned by Labor until the member for Chifley stood up for them today. It is a crisis of confidence that means we have to move this motion, because the Prime Minister is so lacking in confidence in her own authority that she has to wheel out Bob Hawke to shore her up. She has to wheel out for her Treasurer John Fahey to shore him up in Queensland. She has to wheel out for her Treasurer Ken Henry. Can you imagine John Howard appointing Ted Evans because he did not trust Peter Costello as Treasurer? Can you imagine that? What an insult to a Treasurer. But it has not happened once; it has now happened twice: appointment of John Fahey, appointment of Ken Henry. We are waiting for Peter Costello to be appointed. How long will that take? Or John Stone will be back to be appointed. Who knows, there could be a range of others.

This illustrates the fact that if the government does not have confidence in its own team, how can it expect the Australian people to have confidence in the government? If the government does not have confidence in its own policies, how can it expect the Australian people to believe it at its word? We are rapidly approaching the ides of June—23 June. There will be all sorts of full moons, and he knows what is coming. He is counting the days—21 days, Old China. It is not that long that you have to wait. I would say to him that it is 21 days until the first anniversary of the knifing of Kevin. That was a great—

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