Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Does the Treasurer recall saying to Laurie Oakes on the Sunday program on 27 February 2005:

If you see a single digit in front of your interest rate, that’s low.

Can the Treasurer explain why, unlike almost everything else the Treasurer has ever said, the transcript of this interview does not appear on his official website?

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

That is because the Sunday program does its own transcripts and puts them on the Sunday program’s website. Just because we are interested in the question of transcripts, I went looking for a transcript myself on Saturday, because I looked at the television and I saw a question asked of the Leader of the Opposition. He was asked whether or not he had any—

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why wasn’t it on the website? It’s a single digit farce—

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

Order! The member for Lilley does not have the call.

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

I am entitled to answer a dorothy dixer from the member for Lilley. I went looking for the transcript on Saturday. I could have sworn I saw the Leader of the Opposition asked a question about Ian Macfarlane’s comments. He went into this long diatribe about Ian Macfarlane and I thought, ‘The poor old Reserve Bank governor; what’s he done to deserve that?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Swan interjecting

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

Order! The member for Lilley has asked his question.

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

Why is the Reserve Bank governor getting a serve from the Leader of the Opposition?’ Mr Speaker, you might think it was Ian Macfarlane, the Reserve Bank governor. But, blow me down, it was not; it was the industry minister that was in the paper.

As the Prime Minister said, whenever you see a statement from John Howard from now on, make sure it is not from John Howard the actor—because he could be attacking John Howard the actor. There are some people that get up and read newspapers on Saturday morning; there are other people that go out and share their ignorance—

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order! The level of interjections is far too high. Has the Treasurer completed his answer?

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

No. When I finally find the transcript—oh, here it is! Get a load of this: it is put out under the Leader of the Opposition’s letterhead.

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

Mr Albanese interjecting

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

Well, the member for Lilley asked me—

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

Order! The Treasurer will resume his seat. The member for Grayndler will remove himself from the House under standing order 94(a).

The member for Grayndler then left the chamber.

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

Here we are: ‘Leader of the Opposition, the Hon. Kim Beazley’. Get a load of this. This is how it is headed up: ‘Partial transcript of a doorstop interview, Pyrmont, 12 August 2006’. When you go all the way through here, there is only one question that never made it—we have Wilson Tuckey mentioned; we have Lebanon mentioned; we have the UN mentioned; we have Sydney airport mentioned—the question about the Reserve Bank governor. Why would you go to all the effort of putting out a partial transcript of your comments? I will tell you why. Because you faked the contents and you did not have the guts to put out the fact that you did not even know who the Governor of the Reserve Bank was.

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

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

Order! Members are holding up their question time.