Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Bushby for that question. I also thank Senator Williams, who has shown a lot of interest in this particular policy issue. Back in 2012, the now Leader of the Opposition, Mr Shorten, as the minister for financial services at the time, was responsible for what was arguably the greatest Australian bank robbery of all times. Today this government is reversing the disastrous, outrageous attack on people's bank accounts that was imposed on them by none other than Mr Shorten. Remember, this was a pre-Christmas raid on people's bank accounts back in 2012. Who was there at the scene of the crime? It was none other than the former finance minister—

Senator Wong interjecting—

Senator Wong—the first finance minister in the history of the Commonwealth to do that. Here they were: they had promised a surplus in 2012-13. Remember that? In fact, some of them said they had already delivered the surplus. And here they were, before Christmas, worried it was not going to happen. So let's come up with some smoke and mirrors. Let's come up with some cash flow tricks. Let's go after people's bank accounts in order to try and make it look like we have got a surplus. So they said, 'We've got to have a $1.1 billion surplus.' Where did half of it come from? Other people's bank accounts. Unbelievable! I still remember sitting in my office in Perth, looking at the television, watching Senator Wong at the scene of the crime, watching the then Treasurer, Mr Swan, and watching Mr Shorten, the now Leader of the Opposition, as they were putting their hands into people's bank accounts—right into people's bank accounts. It was Mr Swan's Christmas. Here they were with $550 million in one year. They knew it was not the government's money. (Time expired)