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

What was the point of the committee? What is the point of a debate in this parliament? You look at the front bench of the Labor Party, and it is like Davy Jones's crew on the Black Pearlit is exactly the same; it is a freak show. They do not know how to run the country, and they do not know how to run public policy. Whether it be on taxation, where they have no strategy, or on fiscal management, where they have no strategy, or on the basic, day-to-day duties of a legislator in this House, the Labor Party do not know how to govern.

These bills, these amendments in particular, are the perfect illustration of the incompetence of this government. Announce in MYEFO that you have a major funding problem; surprise absolutely everyone with a grab at people's superannuation; come into the parliament with legislation that is much broader than could possibly have been anticipated in the announcement in MYEFO; screw up the legislation; send it to a committee, after initially resisting it; and then, from the committee, get a recommendation to support the bill in full but ignore it and come into this place and move a whole lot of amendments to your own bill!

Even the government's own parliamentary secretary here at the table, the member for Oxley, was meant to move his amendments earlier today—and he forgot to stand up. So the coalition moved their amendments in his place. And then he forgot to speak against our amendments because he was not paying attention. He is not the sharpest tool in the shed, we know that, but he forgot to speak against our amendments, and then, after he failed to speak against the amendments, you know what? He forgot to say he opposed the amendments. He forgot to call it. Then we had an imbroglio in the House, and it was put, out of deference to the Deputy Speaker, back to the House for a second vote. What mayhem! What a joke! Member for Oxley, no wonder you are consigned to a parliamentary secretary—and after doing all that work. I thought the original Ripoll committee report was pretty good on financial advice. No wonder the government ignored it, because it was a pretty good report!

Then they went and completely changed it and delivered a whole lot of new amendments and FOFA legislation. Because the benchmark for this government is incompetence, the Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation is higher than the current Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer. That is the benchmark for good government—absolute abject incompetence! But guess what? This guy is going to get a promotion! Incompetence is the benchmark for performance in the Gillard government, so we now have a parliamentary secretary who does not know what he is doing.

We will not support legislation that is made on the run. We will not support amendments that have not been tested in the broader community. We will not support bad and incompetent legislation and, sure as hell, we will not try to shore up an incompetent government. This is not the way the country should be run. This is not the way public policy should be run. This is not the way the parliament should be run. We deserve competent government in Australia. Sadly, we have not got it. Gerry Harvey nailed it when he said in May this year that an incompetent government is what is holding Australia back. It is not the Australian people; it is an incompetent government that just is not up to the job.

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