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

Surely not—but brace yourselves and adopt the emotional crash position because you are in for some disappointment. Seven out of the Howard government's last 10 MYEFOs were released after today's date. In fact, the tardy Howard government released three within a week of Christmas. In 2004 they released the MYEFO on 21 December. That really allows for a bit of parliamentary scrutiny! The only ones that would read that would be the elves and Santa. If that was timekeeping under Work Choices you probably would have lost your job.

Since Labor were elected in 2007, you will find if you study the MYEFO dates that we have so far released all of our MYEFO statements in November. So this is a government that, no matter what the circumstances, has been determined to release MYEFO at the earliest possible date. Yet we have the opposition saying that, because of the contagion in Europe and its inevitable spread to Australia, we need to release it now. That is not advice that the opposition when they were in government ever set for themselves.

When we look at what is being talked about here in relation to a mini-budget and the MYEFO and also some of the comments the opposition have been running off to the media with, it is interesting to note what we have consistently said, and that is that we update the forecasts in the usual way in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook before the end of the year. Our approach is entirely consistent with the requirements of the Charter of Budget Honesty Act and our record is certainly better than that of those sitting opposite. Division 2 of part 5 of the charter confirms exactly what I have just reported to the House.

When I listened carefully to the opposition call for the urgent MYEFO in light of the impending European crisis, what I realised was that, firstly, they do not practise what they preach. Secondly, any fair examination of the comparison of Europe with Australia would show that, whilst what happens in Europe is certainly very important for some of the reasons I outlined and it does go to the matter of confidence, the Australian story is a far more optimistic and hopeful story than those naysayers opposite would have it. What I love about those opposite, and I have to pause as I say that—what I recognise about those opposite is that they have never seen an aeroplane overseas that they would not catch and then start trashing Australia from overseas. What I also know about this country is we are the party—

Opposition members interjecting—

That arrow struck home! We are the party who have taken us through the global financial crisis. We are the party who want to increase compulsory savings. We have done it before and we will do it again. (Time expired)

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