Stuart Henry (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My relevant question is addressed to the Treasurer. Would the Treasurer update the House on the latest national accounts figures? What does this say about the need for experienced and consistent economic management?

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Hasluck for his question. I can inform him that the national accounts came out for the December quarter today. They showed solid economic growth of 0.5 per cent for the quarter and 2.7 per cent for the year. Importantly, we see that consumption is continuing to moderate and the housing cycle, which the government expressed concern about some years ago, continues to readjust. National growth is now led by business investment. New private engineering construction grew 7.1 per cent in the quarter and 29.8 per cent through the year. New machinery and equipment investment grew 6.2 per cent in the quarter and 15.8 per cent through the year.

What we are seeing now is a rebalancing of the Australian economy—out of the housing cycle and consumption into business investment—which will build capacity and, particularly in the mining industry, allow Australia to take advantage of very strong terms of trade. That terms of trade increase indicates the importance of experienced management, and not just experienced management on this side of the House but, if the opposition should ever come to government, they would need experienced management too. But unfortunately the factional war lords—

Kim Wilkie (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Wilkie interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Swan!

Kim Wilkie (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Wilkie interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Swan is warned!

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

are about to shoot all the experience of the Victorian ALP. We had the member for Maribyrnong yesterday terminated with extreme prejudice.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order under standing order 104.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I call the Treasurer and remind him of the question.

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is important to have experienced management, and it is necessary to have experience on both sides of the parliament. That will not be helped by the member for Maribyrnong, who yesterday was terminated with extreme prejudice by a union official.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise again on a point of order under standing order 104. This was a question—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Grayndler will resume his seat. The Treasurer has only just returned to answer the question. I call the Treasurer. He is in order.

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I think that the parliament would also benefit from the continuing experience of the member for Corio. The ghost who walks is not here because the factional war lords—

Duncan Kerr (Denison, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. How can it be said that it is within the Treasurer’s area of responsibility to this parliament to make comments on preselections? They have their own bloody preselections—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Denison will resume his seat.

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Again I notice that the member for Hotham is another ghost who walks today. He is not here. But I was rather taken—

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Under standing order 98(c), parts (i), (ii) and (iii), this is out of order.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, on the point of order: there is obviously an organised tactic by members opposite to try to disrupt the giving of answers by taking points of order.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Lilley is warned! The Treasurer deserves the opportunity to return to answering the question. He is constantly being interrupted and I will take action if members continue to interrupt before the Treasurer has had an opportunity to continue answering his question.

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is important to have experience on both sides of the parliament because it is necessary for economic management. I got some support for this view with an article published in the Australian today called ‘Storytellers galore but no story to tell’. It was written by the member for Batman, one of the more experienced members of parliament.

Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer will resume his seat. I remind the Chief Opposition Whip that I have asked that the Treasurer be given an opportunity to answer the question, but I will take his point of order.

Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. With due respect, the Treasurer is well down that path, but I did want to draw your attention to page 553 of the House of Representatives Practice. Also, could I draw your attention to rulings of your distinguished predecessor, Speaker Andrews, on 20 June 2002, at page 4072 of Hansard, and on 6 September 2000 at page 20270—

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Chief Opposition Whip will come straight to his point of order. He does not need to quote past Hansards. The point of order is?

Roger Price (Chifley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I have two points of order: firstly, standing order 104 and, secondly, standing order 98(c)(i), I think it is.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remind the Chief Opposition Whip that standing order 98 refers to questions, not to answers. The Treasurer has the call, and I am listening carefully to the Treasurer’s answer.

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to cite, in support of my argument about the importance of experience in the parliament, an article in today’s Australian written by the member for Batman entitled ‘Storytellers galore but no story to tell’. The member for Batman said:

… after a decade in Opposition we have plenty of storytellers but not much of a story to tell.

Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Ripoll interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Oxley is warned!

Julia Gillard (Lalor, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order and further to the points of order raised by the member for Grayndler. You have consistently and properly asked the Treasurer to come back to the question. The question was on the economy. The matters he is now going to are not relevant.

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treasurer is answering the question. I said I would listen carefully. It is very hard to hear what he is saying when he is constantly interrupted, and I think members should show some respect.

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do not think it is necessary to try to gag what the member for Batman wrote. It is in a newspaper today. He talks about the need for experience amongst members. He says:

This will not be remedied by rubbing out sitting MPs in safe Labor seats in favour of party hacks with factional numbers—

Kim Wilkie (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Wilkie interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Swan has been warned. The member for Swan will remove himself under standing order 94(a).

The member for Swan then left the chamber.

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The problem of experience amongst members of the opposition, as the member for Batman says:

... will not be remedied by rubbing out sitting MPs in safe Labor seats in favour of party hacks with factional numbers on public office selection panels or through branch stacks.

We would endorse that statement. I think both sides of parliament will join with the member for Batman and support colleagues on Labor’s front bench with the experience that they bring to this parliament.