Julian McGauran (Victoria, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr Acting Deputy President, I do not think the Prime Minister has told it straight as he promised he would. As recently as the last few weeks, he had a private conversation with Mr Bush and that conversation leaked out. What was leaked was false; nevertheless, it leaked out. And we all know exactly—as President Bush, I should add, knows exactly—who did the talking, who did the boasting at the dinner party with the editor of the Australian. It is as clear as a bell. He does not tell it straight. It is all about Mr Rudd.

Mr Rudd did not tell it straight when he made one of the biggest financial decisions in the midst of this crisis, that of guaranteeing bank fund deposits. That had the cascading effect of freezing non-bank funds. People had their money frozen. Did anyone ever think that in this country you could not access your savings or the funds that you need when they were with organisations such as AMP and AXA? That is what has happened, and it happened because of a Prime Minister who never told it straight to the Australian people and who made a knee-jerk decision in reaction to Mr Turnbull’s suggestion. Mr Rudd did not consult the Reserve Bank, as he told us that he did.