Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of the interim report that's being discussed. I was moved to speak because I listened to some of the contributions here today, and I do have some sympathy for truth in political advertising. One of the reasons I have sympathy is the amount of time I spent on prepoll at the last federal election listening to Greens volunteers handing out election material saying their election promises were fully costed and funded. I sat on prepoll listening to them, 'Our promise is free dental care, free this, free that, fully funded, fully costed.' What did we find out? There was no truth in political advertising there because the Parliamentary Budget Office, an independent agency that sits within this parliament, actually costed the Greens's policies after the last federal election and found that they would have generated an aggregate fiscal balance through the forward estimates of negative $260-plus billion.

The Parliamentary Budget Office fully costed free dental care, free this, free that, all sorts of promises made by the Australian Greens—no responsibility, no accountability because they're not a party of government. They promised the world, represented that it was fully funded and fully costed, and the Parliamentary Budget Office—unfortunately, after the election—produced a report that the aggregate black hole that would have been produced by implementation of the Greens's policies was north of negative $260 billion. The Australian Greens have absolutely no credibility whatsoever. They have no credibility when they talk about truth in political advertising. Judge them by their deeds, not their words. And when you judge them by their deeds, have a look at the independent analysis of the Parliamentary Budget Office, a minus $260 billion black hole if the Greens's policies were implemented in Australia. It would have caused an economic catastrophe. They promise the world, they come in here and provide us their platitudes about truth in political advertising, but when you look at the detail, you look at the actual evidence, the independent Parliamentary Budget Office calculated a fiscal negative balance in aggregate north of $260 billion if the Greens's promises, fully funded and costed, had been implemented. So much for truth in political advertising.

Debate adjourned.