Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party, Chairman of the Scrutiny of Government Waste Committee) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I might just pick up from where that great blues man, the member for Casey, was going in that respect. The Assistant Treasurer, who did dub in that contribution in the MPI—

Mike Kelly (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Which blues do you follow?

Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party, Chairman of the Scrutiny of Government Waste Committee) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Carlton Blues, Parliamentary Secretary—the mighty Carlton Blues, that is. The Assistant Treasurer, who did dub this Treasurer 'the greatest Treasurer' in his speech a short time before, is the weakest person in this parliament. This is a person who operates only ever behind closed doors, in a faceless manner with a sharp knife. This is the Assistant Treasurer who told the former Prime Minister before the election that he had his full support only to knife him—so much so they had to replace all the carpets in the ministerial wing, as reported in the Daily Telegraph this week.

This Assistant Treasurer is the most weak, heartless man. He can never do it to someone's face. He comes in here and backs up his Treasurer, but he runs around every single boardroom in this country and tells them that he wants his job. He wants his job and then he wants the Prime Minister's job. The Assistant Treasurer has all ambition and no ability. He gave an appalling MPI speech in support of his Treasurer, and we all know why. We hear this from all the corporates in this country who say to us that the Assistant Treasurer rolls up to their boardrooms and says, 'Swanny's not up to it; I'm going to be there shortly.'

There are some reasons for the Assistant Treasurer to say those sorts of things, because this Treasurer is clearly incompetent. We saw that this week in question time. He is a man who has in the past suffered terrible accusations being made about him on issues in which he has been involved, including I note the shadow minister for innovation, industry and science earlier in the week referring to a bagman. That refers to allegations that there was money passed in an election campaign.

Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! I warn the honourable member for Mayo that standing order 90 points out that all imputations of improper motives to a member and personal reflections on other members shall be considered highly disorderly. He is skating very close to breaching that standing order. I would commend its provisions to him.

Jamie Briggs (Mayo, Liberal Party, Chairman of the Scrutiny of Government Waste Committee) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take the Deputy Speaker's advice, but I am referring to articles that were in the Courier Mail. But it is the performance of this Treasurer which this parliament should find completely abhorrent. We know that the Treasurer has made mistake after mistake, such as spending too much money. The budget this year quite clearly shows that this is a government that has lost control of our finances—deficit budget after deficit budget, debt building up to over $100 billion for the first time in our history, another $50 billion deficit and the claim that we will only return to surplus in 2012-13. If you look at the budget papers, Mr Deputy Speaker, you will see that is purely because this government is taxing more. This government is not making the hard and necessary decisions to cut spending. It is taxing more and the revenue is up. There is not any chance that it will get close to returning to a surplus. We do not believe the government ever will because this Treasurer oversees waste and deficit spending.

Let us look at some of the mistakes this Treasurer has made. The first was stating that the banks need not pass on cuts in official interest rates. The Treasurer told a press conference on 8 January 2008:

… it is entirely their right as a commercial organisation to take this decision in their commercial interests …

Second, he made a comment to Laurie Oakes on 7 September 2008 that the pension was too low for him to live off, yet he did nothing about it. Thirdly, he told the ABC in 2008 that people affected by government policy should be sent to Centrelink. He said 'these people should investigate whatever opportunities they have through Centrelink'. Fourthly, when asked about the forecast rate of inflation on the release of the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, he undertook to cite a figure, saying, 'Who has got my chart?' That comes off the back of a very direct question we asked him in question time this week about whether he could refer to a figure in the budget and we were told by the Treasurer that it was not his job to play word games. He said that the member could go and find it in the budget papers.

It is a responsibility in question time in this place, when you are responsible for an area of government, to answer questions relating to that area of government. You constantly try to get that focused on in question time. Very clearly, the job of the Treasurer is to answer specific questions about his budget. This Treasurer is incompetent and not up to it. But he is a whole lot better than the Assistant Treasurer.