Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to set the record straight. A matter has been raised in the House of Representatives which needs to be corrected. The matter I refer to is the ignorant, ill-informed and hypocritical commentary made by the Treasurer, Peter Costello. In the last sitting week, he made statements attacking Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for President Chavez’s description of George W Bush as a madman and the devil.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Abetz interjecting—

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take Senator Abetz’s interjection because it simply reinforces—

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator, you did use a non-parliamentary term in referring to the Treasurer.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I talked about the commentary he made, Mr President.

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, I think you said ‘hypocritical’, which is unparliamentary. I ask you to withdraw that.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw that. I will simply say the matter I refer to is the ignorant, ill-informed and hypocritical commentary made by the Treasurer, Peter Costello.

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is unparliamentary and I would ask you to withdraw that, which you have—please continue.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

All right. The Treasurer then went on to attack me for signing an open letter to invite the President of Venezuela to Australia. Well, I have to set the Treasurer straight. I never signed such a letter. I can only presume he got the information from the internet, which is the only place where I am listed as having signed such a letter—a mistake for which I have received an apology from the network which runs the site.

This gives us an insight into the attention to detail paid by the Treasurer and, indeed, by this government. With staff at his fingertips, what did the Treasurer do? He googled his question time research. But did he check his facts? No. Did he get a signed copy of the letter? No. Did he contact anyone involved with the network sponsoring the letter? No. He simply relied on the internet.

Does it concern anyone else that the Treasurer solely relies on the internet for his research? It may come as a shock and a surprise to the Treasurer, but the internet does not always carry the truth. It may astound the Treasurer that the internet is often used to mislead and convey information which is patently untrue. In this particular instance, the addition of my name to this petition was as result of a genuine mix-up by the organisation concerned, rather than a direct attempt to deceive the public. Nevertheless, the information was wrong and there is no excuse for the lack of research on the part of the Treasurer. Even the slightest attempt of investigation—a simple phone call or an email by the Treasurer or his myriad of staff—would have revealed this to be the case.

This is a man with his hands on the economic levers of our country. Does he google his Treasury projections? It is not surprising then that we see a pattern emerging—one where the government does little, if any, research or background work. We need to look no further than the Prime Minister’s $10 billion water package cobbled together at the last minute, and it did not even go before cabinet.

Was this incompetence or short-term political opportunism? I think it was probably a mixture of both. The opportunism shows in the blatantly obvious: the Treasurer has now resorted to googling South American leaders five minutes before question time. No wonder—given how the electorate is starting to feel, recognising an arrogant and lethargic government for what they are.

As I said before, the Treasurer attacked the President of Venezuela for his commentary on George W Bush. Hugo Chavez has certainly used language that I would not use and language that I do not endorse, and I acknowledge that his attacks are often strident and over the top. But what I found galling is yet another example of this government’s arrogance. The Treasurer attacks Hugo Chavez for his strident and inflammatory commentary and in the same breath calls him a dictator. With the President of Venezuela being democratically elected, it strikes me as hypocritical, insincere, two-faced and duplicitous that the Treasurer would resort to exactly the type of behaviour that he attacks others for doing.

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! You are using some very unparliamentary terms about the Treasurer.

Nick Sherry (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Banking and Financial Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

All true.

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I did not ask for your comment, Senator Sherry. I would ask you to withdraw those unparliamentary comments, Senator Marshall.

Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

How often do you have to be told?

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order!

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I certainly withdraw those comments if you seek me to, Mr President.

Paul Calvert (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He purports to take the moral high ground yet contradicts himself in his very next breath. While Venezuela is neither a major trading partner nor rates highly in Australia’s political consciousness, this does not give the Treasurer licence to insult the democratically elected leader of a sovereign nation—the very thing he accuses Chavez of. By doing this, he gravely risks jeopardising our international relationship, all in the name of cheap political point-scoring. I suppose the Treasurer could always google the phrase ‘the pot calling the kettle black’.

These half-baked, internet researched, politically opportunistic attacks demean us in the eyes of the world. Instead of focusing on some of the world’s most brutal regimes and the systems which prop them up, or having a discussion around how we can promote peace and prosperity, our Treasurer gets on the internet for a surf.

I ask the Treasurer and the Foreign Minister: have there been any diplomatic repercussions from this? Has the government received any protests from the representatives of the democratic nation of Venezuela? I suspect I will not get an answer, given that the Treasurer will not want to face up to the consequences of his remarks. It is also unlikely that I will get an answer given the short attention span of this government and its lack of attention to detail—details like public policy and how it affects people’s lives.

This experience also shows how the media will go along with anything that is put in the public sphere, often without challenge. Of all the journalists who mentioned the Treasurer’s commentary, only one—Misha Schubert of the Agehad the professionalism to contact my office in an attempt to verify the facts of the matter. All the other media outlets just ran it verbatim.

We all know that John Howard has been very successful in staying at the top, and keeping Peter Costello’s ambitions well in check. In turn, Peter Costello has sought to outdo the Prime Minister in all areas political. Well, I offer the Treasurer a small tip: when it comes to a lack of research and ignorant commentary, you do not have to try and outdo the Prime Minister. Just because the Prime Minister put his foot in his mouth over his unwavering support for George W Bush and the Iraq invasion, that does not mean that you, Treasurer, have to immediately come up with your own ill-informed commentary on Venezuela. Just because the Prime Minister can go without research or consultation on his major policies does not mean that you have to as well.

It may just be the Treasurer’s competitive streak. It may be peer pressure. Whatever it is, it is not an excuse. This government has become ignorant and arrogant. It treats the people, the parliament and now even leaders of sovereign democratic nations with contempt. And I personally cannot wait until the men and women of Australia get to return the favour.