Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition is sensitive to the attacks he has come under legitimately because of his attacks on the independent financial regulators. We know that Malcolm believes that Malcolm knows best; we actually believe the Reserve Bank knows better, that the Prudential Regulatory Authority knows better, also that the Secretary to the Treasury knows better. Here we have the alternative Prime Minister of Australia standing up in this place and calling into question whether the Secretary to the Treasury should be dismissed. That is what he said. He refused to come in and repudiate that. He then unleashes the dogs of war in the Senate yesterday through Senator Abetz, in a scripted script from the Leader of the Opposition’s office, where Senator Abetz attacked the integrity of the Secretary to the Treasury. And what did the Leader of the Opposition do about that? Nothing whatsoever.

Early this week, the member for North Sydney questioned whether the word of the Secretary to the Treasury counted for anything at all. I say to those opposite that that was just phase one. Phase two was the member for Canning this morning attacking the integrity and independence of the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia. That is what you did and you did so in orchestration, I presume, with the Leader of the Opposition’s office. I say to the member for Canning, acting again as one of the dogs of war, unleashed by—

See this speech in context