Chris Bowen McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer
3:06 pm
My question is to the Treasurer. Why has the Treasurer chosen to double budget deficits over the next four years in his mid-year economic statement by adding $68 billion in new spending and changes to economic assumptions?
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
The fact is our numbers tell the truth and Labor's did not. Labor's last attack on costings did not go too well. Remember the election campaign? Remember Labor came out and attacked our costings? I have another book from the library. I am becoming quite the accomplished library customer.
Chris Bowen McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The question was about the Treasurer's $68 billion fiddle. It was about his mid-year economic statement.
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
The member for McMahon will resume his seat. There is no point of order, and you will not use the standing orders in that way.
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
I cite this book by Bruce Hawker, The Rudd Rebellion it is titled. It says: 'When Rudd, Bowen and Wong held a joint press conference attacking the opposition costings'—that is our costings—'and in doing so used out of date information, the response by the Treasury and Finance department CEOs was devastating. They said it was an invalid comparison and suddenly our costings attack on the opposition was in tatters.' So that was Bruce Hawker. And I thought to myself: surely Labor would learn the lesson that, if they are attacking our numbers, they have to be credible. Of course, the credibility of the Labor Party was lost when on more than 300 occasions they promised to deliver a surplus and they never did. I came across the budget newsletter from Bill Shorten MP. And it says here—
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General
Your 68 billion!
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
This is his newsletter and it says 'Moonee Ponds', and it has got a nice photo—a much younger looking Bill Shorten, I might say. This is Labor. It says, 'This budget—'
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General
Your 68 billion!
Mr Tony Burke Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order under standing order 104(a). The Treasurer is clearly not being directly relevant to the question that was asked.
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
The question was about budget figures and was very wide ranging. I am listening attentively to the Treasurer's answer, and the Treasurer has the call.
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education
Madam Speaker, on the point of order, the standing orders are very clear that the opposition can only take one point of order on relevance in each question and answer. That was designed to stop this kind of disruption of question time.
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General
You'd know all about disruption of question time!
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
Order! That was the second point of order on relevance. Only one is permitted.
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
And, of course, the newsletter from the now Leader of the Opposition said:
This budget ensures that the benefits of the boom are spread to all corners of our country. We have brought the budget back to surplus on time, as promised …
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General
The question was about your 68 billion!
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
And just in case you missed it on the front page, it is on the back page as well.
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General
The question was about your 68 billion!
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
'Back in surplus on time, as promised. We have delivered a surplus on time, as promised.' Now, the Labor Party has been out in the last 24 hours talking about their budget rules, suggesting that if we kept to their budget rules we would have the budget coming back in surplus. The problem is that Labor never kept to their budget rules. Therefore, they never delivered surplus.
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General
How about your 68 billion?
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
They would never deliver a surplus. They have no economic credibility. They got every single number wrong, and they left the Australian people to pick up the bill from a very bad Labor government.
Chris Bowen McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer
3:10 pm
I have another question to the Treasurer—
Chris Bowen McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer
Madam Speaker, you called me. I was on my feet first.
Chris Bowen McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer
Thank you, Madam Speaker. I have a question for the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to the fact—
Chris Bowen McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer
Certainly.
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
It is the same principle that applied before, and the member for McMahon was on his feet before the member for Tangney.
Chris Bowen McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer
Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. My question is to the Treasurer. I refer the Treasurer to the fact that budget deficits have doubled on his watch, adding $68 billion across the forward estimates. If the Treasurer believes we are in a budget emergency, why have you doubled the deficit?
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
3:11 pm
Because it is your deficit—$123 billion of Labor deficit! And the numbers tell the truth.
Mr Tony Burke Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Treasurer should be directing his comments through the chair.
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
It is getting very close. I call the Treasurer.
Mr Tony Burke Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance
On the point of order, Madam Speaker, you just indicated that the point of order that I had raised was very close as though there was a problem with raising the most basic point of parliamentary behaviour, which is to refer to—
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
The member will resume his seat. He is not entitled to put argument.
Mr Tony Burke Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance
We have made points of order.
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education
Stop bullying the Speaker! Don't you like having a woman in the chair, Tony?
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
Let us be very, very clear: this is the last economic statement from the member—
Mr Bowen interjecting—
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
The member for McMahon will remove himself under standing order 94(a), and resume some sensibility.
The member for McMahon then left the chamber.
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
That has just increased the IQ of the Labor Party.
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
And if the member for Lilley goes out, that will double the IQ of the Labor Party. The bottom line is the Labor Party—
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
The member for Lilley will desist. Order! There will be silence on my left.
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
The Labor Party and the member for Lilley must be incredibly proud of the legacy. It was the member for Lilley that promised a surplus.
Christopher Pyne Sturt, Liberal Party, Minister for Education
Madam Speaker, on a point of order, the member for Lilley is red-faced and screaming across the chamber, and we cannot hear the Treasurer's attempts at answering the question. I would ask you to get the member for Isaacs and the member for Lilley under control.
Joel Fitzgibbon Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture
On the point of order, why wouldn't members on this side be excited when the Treasurer has conceded the assertion—
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
The member for Hunter will resume his seat. There has obviously been a concerted effort of noise and an attempt to disrupt the proceedings of the House today, which is no doubt a precursor to the motion which the member for Watson is so anxious to move. I have been very careful to allow the member for Watson to remain in the chamber, because I would not want to deprive him of his opportunity. So we will have no more of the screaming and yelling. We will have quiet for the rest of question time. I notice that the questions from the opposition are listened to in silence and then the ruckus begins. So we will have some proper demeanour and some proper behaviour back in the chamber.
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
If economic performance is based on actually delivering a surplus, the Labor Party failed at every count. It was the member for Lilley that delivered a $27 billion deficit, then a $54 billion deficit, then a $47 billion deficit, then a $43 billion deficit—
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Attorney General
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The question was about the $68 billion that this Treasurer has added to the deficit, and there needs to be relevance in the answer.
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
The member for Isaacs knows he must not abuse the standing orders. The question was wide ranging, and the answer is in order.
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
So he must be immensely proud of his record of $190 billion of deficits. You are a winner, old Swannie!
Mr Tony Burke Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I would ask the Treasurer to direct his remarks through the chair.
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
The Treasurer has the call and will kindly address his remarks through the chair.
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
What an incredibly proud moment it must have been for the member for Lilley to have overseen, as Treasurer, every single year in deficit and then to have left a legacy of $123 billion of deficit—
Mr Swan interjecting—
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
How about throwing him out?—and $667 billion of deficit.
Mr Dreyfus interjecting—
Mrs Bronwyn Bishop Speaker
The member for Isaacs will leave the chamber, under the provisions of standing order 94(a).
The member for Isaacs then left the chamber.
Joe Hockey North Sydney, Liberal Party, Treasurer
The member for Lilley is a genius! He should have been the world's worst Treasurer, because that was the decision of the Australian people. There was one consistent theme across the whole Rudd-Gillard government. It was that Wayne Swan was the Treasurer. The member for Lilley was the Treasurer. He was unquestionably the worst Treasurer. He designed taxes that never raised any money, he kept chopping and changing policy and he left a legacy that we have to fix. Well, we are determined to fix the budget, we are determined to undertake the repair job, we are determined to grow the Australian economy and we are determined to help the Australian enterprises and businesses out there to create the jobs of the 21st century.
Tony Abbott Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister
I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.