Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law) Share this | Hansard source

It was certainly provided. No-one can predict the length of the crisis. Government has articulated how it will return the budget to surplus. You cannot put an exact time frame on ‘short term’ but, again, the government has articulated a clear and decisive strategy.

I want to come back to the earlier point you made about public servants working hard. What I do know is that, yes, many public servants at certain times work very, very hard indeed. I wish it was not the case but they do work very hard. I have witnessed firsthand the public servants I have had meetings with on very early mornings, at nights, fortunately not too often at the weekends, I have to say, but working very late nights and long hours. The other point I would make, on the question you went to in terms of times and who signed what et cetera, is that it also goes to show just how extraordinarily hard the Treasurer works. On a Sunday he was going through a very detailed and important package. And I know from my contact with him, which is sometimes at weekends, he is working every day and night of the week in an extraordinarily dedicated and committed way. So, yes, there are times when public servants work extraordinarily hard, and with respect to this package the Treasurer was working hard. I spoke to the Treasurer when we were having some discussion about some other matters, and we were both supposed to be on leave at the time. I am not complaining about it. That is just the way government is, and the times and the circumstances in the Christmas-New Year break. So, yes, public servants work very hard. At times they work extraordinarily long hours, particularly on budget type papers. But the Treasurer works extraordinarily hard and, for that matter, the Prime Minister as well, from our experience.