Nickolas Varvaris (Barton, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline the importance of the government being honest and transparent about the state of the economy and the budget?

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

I thank the new member for Barton for his question. Well done—what a great victory that was. It is vitally important to be very honest about the state of the budget and the state of the economy. The member for Barton might have heard of it, but he was not here: on more than 500 occasions the previous government promised a surplus. It is hard to believe, isn't it? The member for Lilley is not here at the moment; he is obviously having lunch with Paul Keating, giving Paul Keating some wisdom.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He is at his daughter's wedding.

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

Oh, his daughter's wedding—well, I am very happy for him. I wish him well, and I wish her well. We have great faith in the member for Lilley, because the member for Lilley was consistent with Labor values of not being quite as transparent as they could be about the real state of the budget or the economy.

Dr Chalmers interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Rankin will remove himself under 94(a).

The member for Rankin then left the chamber.

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

Why would Labor, on more than 400 occasions, promise a surplus that they never delivered? Well, the revelation has come out today. I picked up on this stray email from a Mr John McTernan. Remember him? We do! It is an email to chiefs of staff and media advisors, and it goes like this:

We know from the groups that voters see surplus as an emblem of good economic management.

Well, we would agree. We were the last government to deliver a surplus, the last party. He goes on to say:

We need all ministers to explain our achievement constantly—and celebrate it.

And celebrate a surplus!

Cabinet has agreed that ministers need to use the following language consistently …

No. 1: we have delivered a surplus!

This surplus means we now have a buffer in case the global economy gets worse. …We've delivered a surplus with targeted and responsible savings while protecting the frontline services Australian families rely on in health and education.

They are Labor's words. They all came from the spinmeister, based on groups.

I will tell you what we are going to do. Next Tuesday at the National Press Club we are going to deliver a budget update based on the facts. It will tell the truth about the budget, which Labor never did. It will tell the truth about the economy, which Labor never did. And you have had a taste of it today with the release of the assessment on the NBN that shows that a $44 billion promised NBN rollout has blown out to $73 billion. Where did that money go? Where did that money come from? It would have come from the taxpayers of Australia if Labor had another three years in office. Now is the time to tell the truth. It takes a new government to tell the truth, and it will be a shame for Labor that it has taken this long.