Stephen Jones (Throsby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with great regret that I see this debate on what is an important piece of legislation being used as a vehicle by those opposite to utter the most disgraceful and defamatory accusations against a highly respected public servant.

The fact that the member for Mackellar can stand in this place and use the parliamentary privilege to defame a man who has given years and years of his life to serve both sides of politics and to provide the highest level of economic and social advice to this country is nothing less than disgraceful. It is a spray that deserves an answer. It deserves an answer from those opposite. If they stand beside the member for Mackellar and the accusations that she has made in this chamber tonight then they, too, stand condemned. I say to the member for Mackellar that if she has the courage of her convictions she will not stand in coward's castle and make those accusations; she will go outside and choose to say exactly the same thing. That was nothing short of a disgraceful, defamatory spray on a man who has served this country very, very well. It does absolutely no service to either side of politics that they should allow this to go unanswered.

We are locked in a debate over a pretty important matter, and that is the formation of the Parliamentary Budget Office. You would think on the face of it that it is something that all sides of politics could agree with. Listening to some of the contributions to the debate, it would sometimes appear to me that all sides of politics think that this is an important initiative that should be agreed to. But then you listen to some of the objections and you have to wonder what the motives are that lie behind them.

Some of the objections really ring pretty hollow. After 11 years of government those on that side of politics did absolutely nothing, so the objections that they stand here and raise tonight are pretty damn hollow indeed.

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