Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Going back to the bill and the purpose of the Parliamentary Budget Office is 'to inform the parliament by providing … independent and non-partisan analysis of the budget cycle, fiscal policy and the financial implications of proposals'. How on earth can that objective be achieved if the members of the PBO have to go on bended knee to the plethora of government departments, companies et cetera to get the information they need to be able to give that advice?

The whole purpose of this amendment is to open up the accessibility of information, to make it possible for the officers of the Parliamentary Budget Office to achieve the purpose that is set out in this bill. It is almost like, as the member for Dunkley said earlier, the PBO has been nobbled. I think the owners of Fine Cotton would be blushing at the job this government has done in nobbling the PBO.

Key areas that these amendments are seeking to address are: to strengthen the functions of the PBO; to improve the information gathering powers and secrecy and—most of all, given the debate that has been going on for the last few hours—restoring confidentiality to the costing of policies. And that benefits both sides and the Independents and gives an opportunity to assess the analysis from the PBO so that we can go back and work on those policies before they are released publicly.

I do not understand the difficulty the government has with this amendment; unless, as has been pointed out by a number of members, they have something to hide. What could they possibly have to hide? Let's have a look at a long list: pink batts, school halls, home insulation, small technology credits, AWRA—the list goes on.

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