Ms Julie Bishop Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition
2:18 pm
My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer advise the House what he expects to be the ultimate size of the contingent liability to the taxpayer of the government’s 100 per cent guarantee for bank wholesale funding?
Wayne Swan Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer
The Prime Minister and I have indicated that MYEFO, the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, will be produced in the next month, and those contingent liabilities will be contained in those documents. They will be contained in those documents, as is usual practice. MYEFO is a very important document. I think I remarked in the House yesterday that the practice of the previous Treasurer was to deliver it at a time when people were not around, just before Christmas.
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Opposition Members:
Opposition members interjecting—
Wayne Swan Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer
MYEFO from those opposite—
Government Member:
Wayne Swan Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer
Christmas Eve it was—on the 21st.
Don Randall Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Energy and Resources
Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. As you know, yesterday after question time the member for Higgins denied that that was the fact from the—
Harry Jenkins Speaker
The member for Canning will resume his seat. There is no point of order. As I recollect, there were a couple of questions to me that I was not able to answer because they were not in my administration.
Wayne Swan Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer
Ten of the opposition’s MYEFOs when they were in government were released more than six months after the budget. I remember the day well; everybody had left Canberra. There are people up there who remember it as well because it was the day on which the former Treasurer reneged on their promise in terms of the childcare rebate. They decided to publish it just before Christmas so nobody would notice they were going to make families wait two years for their childcare cash rebate.
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Opposition Members:
Opposition members interjecting—
Wayne Swan Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer
That is why it was published right on Christmas Eve: because Christmas followed the weekend and nobody was in Canberra. Nobody was in Canberra; they had all gone home. They tried to bury it—
Unidentified interjection - Hansard doesn't record who said this
Opposition Members:
Opposition members interjecting—
Wayne Swan Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer
Unlike those opposite, we will produce MYEFO, the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. We will produce it next month. All of these figures will be—
Ms Julie Bishop Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition
Why not now?
Harry Jenkins Speaker
Order! The Deputy Leader of the Opposition asked the question. It is being responded to.
Wayne Swan Lilley, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer
She says, ‘Why not now?’ Because it is being prepared by the Treasury. We will deliver it earlier than it was delivered by them on at least 10 occasions, because that is the responsible thing to do. The responsible thing to do is deliver it in a measured and considered way. All of that data which is being asked for by those opposite will be there for all to see. But what is all this about? To hide their embarrassment they are trying to walk both sides of the street. They are trying to pretend they support the package and then they are trying to nitpick at it around the edges all the way through because they do not support it and because they do not want to stand up for the national interest. We have taken a decision to get ahead of the game by strengthening our economy, because of what is occurring in the international economy. If those opposite cannot understand what is going on in the international economy, given all of the events in the United States, in Europe and in the emerging economies, then they simply do not get it.