Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the comments that have just been made by Senator Eggleston. I want to make one point. Senator Wong was reflecting on the opposition in that this is somehow a criticism of Treasury. I want to be very clear, as Senator Eggleston has just said, Treasury no doubt has provided answers to these questions and Treasury no doubt has sent answers to these questions up to the Treasurer's office. It is no doubt the Treasurer, Mr Swan, who is sitting on these answers and refusing to send them to the Senate as he should do as an accountable Treasurer because he is embarrassed about what might be revealed. He is embarrassed about how the government might be seen in the public arena because people across Australia might actually understand what this government is up to.

I remind the Senate and I remind people across Australia that in the lead-up to the last election the Prime Minister did a deal on the mining tax. The Secretary of the Department of the Treasury, Dr Henry, was quite happy to answer questions, but he was gagged by the Prime Minister and by the Treasurer, Wayne Swan. The Prime Minister and the Treasurer have got form when it comes to hiding information from the public across Australia. We were promised that this was all going to change when the Prime Minister scraped back in because the country Independents decided to support a minority Labor government. We were told that this would be a new era of openness and transparency in government. Julia Gillard said that the sunlight would come in.