Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister confirm that, in his absence, the Minister for Finance and Deregulation has been chairing many meetings of the all-important Expenditure Review Committee of cabinet, which is responsible for analysing and finalising the budget line by line? What does this say about the Prime Minister’s confidence in the Treasurer, when for more than 30 years it has always been the Treasurer that chairs that committee in the Prime Minister’s absence? Given the Prime Minister does not trust the Treasurer to chair this committee whenever he is not present, why should the Australian people trust him to manage our $1.1 trillion economy?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for his question. The members of the cabinet, the Minister for Finance and Deregulation, the Treasurer, the Deputy Prime Minister, I and a whole bunch of others have been pretty busy in the last three months dealing with some of the challenges left to us by those who preceded us. We have been engaged in solid policy responses to the major challenges of the nation. But here is what the honourable member for Wentworth has been engaged in during the same three months: a campaign to bring down the Leader of the Opposition.

Joe Hockey (North Sydney, Liberal Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, a point of order on relevance: it was a very specific question about who is chairing the budget committee of cabinet. It was not asking for a character assessment of anyone other than the current Treasurer.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The Prime Minister will be relevant to the question.

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the question of the strategic budget review committee, the ERC, these meetings roll on continuously—there was one last night. I have to disappoint the member for Wentworth. The Treasurer was chairing the meeting last night. It went for four hours and was a very successful meeting. Can I suggest that, when it comes to real engagement in the debates of the nation, the member for Wentworth would be better advised to engage in these debates rather than the other activities in which he is engaged at the moment.