Barnaby Joyce (Queensland, National Party, Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a personal explanation as I claim to have been misrepresented.

Leave granted.

During question time Minister Wong stated that I had said, 'Newman's budget razor is Abbott's curtain raiser' and then she said that I said of the Prime Minister:

Well, she is absolutely correct.

That was not the actual quote; she has misquoted me. She cannot even read the interview transcript. The whole thing was:

ALEXANDRA KIRK: So is the Prime Minister correct when she says Newman's budget razor is Abbott's curtain raiser?

BARNABY JOYCE: Well she's absolutely correct that the Labor Party which she is a part of has brought about the biggest deficits, our biggest debt, they've borrowed $10 billion in the last month, $2 billion in the last week.

If the Minister for Finance and Deregulation is not even capable of reading a transcript, what on earth is she doing as the finance minister?