Sue Lines (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

We know from the parroting coming from the Abbott government senators that, obviously, they do not like to hear the truth. The truth hurts them and they think, by shouting and carrying on, they can drown out the truth. But the truth is there; Australians know. They can carp and parrot all they like, but the truth is well and truly out there.

Where has Mr Hockey been? He is missing in action. Fancy a Prime Minister saying that tonight's budget will be a boring budget. How can you have a forward-looking document and be an agenda-setting government if you have a boring budget? I do not know how you achieve a boring budget on the one hand and be an agenda-setting government on the other. I do not believe you can do that. I know that Australians agree that you cannot be an agenda-setting government that delivers, by the Prime Minister's own words, a boring budget. He is on the record as saying that. Really, what this budget is about is the Prime Minister saving his own job. No matter how he tries to hide Mr Hockey, no matter how he tries to put a photoshoot up—that is so awkward it is embarrassing, where the Prime Minister is touching the Treasurer on the arm, somehow trying to portray they are friends—no matter how much Mr Abbott puts Mr Morrison front and centre, the fact remains that Mr Abbott's success is linked to that of his hiding Treasurer, Mr Hockey.

We all know it is Mr Hockey who has his name as Treasurer, and he is such a lame-duck Treasurer. All of the major announcements are being done by the Prime Minister and Mr Morrison. We have hardly seen Mr Hockey, and when we have he has not been able to answer the questions. On the odd occasion that he has been in the media recently, he has done nothing but blunder or look very awkward, to say the least. The Abbott government and the Prime Minister know that Mr Hockey's job is on the line with this boring budget. Let us see how it hurts ordinary Australians, once again. Let us see who the winners and losers are—because the biggest loser will be the Prime Minister.